Dawn of a New Age
by Greywolf
Summary: In the future, psions are the new oppressed minority. As Kagome Higurashi struggles to cope with her own psionic powers, she must also try to aid the mysterious boy Inuyasha and uncover the secret behind Project: Moreau.
1. Auras

Author's Notes: This is a concept that came to me in a dream. You heard that right.  
It's a little different from my usual fair. This will just be a side project. Lights, Camera, Action! is my main focus right now.  
Anyway, moving on to the actual story...  
  
Dawn of a New Age  
  
Chapter 1- Auras  
  
The young man was simply walking down the street home from school. His backpack was slung casually over his shoulder and sunglasses covered his eyes. He soon found himself confronted by a group of older boys who immediately came up to him and grabbed him without provocation. One ripped off the boys sunglasses revealing his glowing white eyes.The older boys began to attack the smaller one with the unusual eyes until the air seemed to ripple outward and they were all thrown back by some unseen force. The boy with the strange eyes attempted to run away, but his attackers were in hot pursuit.  
  
"Every day, psions face discrimination from their peers," said the voice-over narrative. "As it is, what little legislation exists to protect them is only weakly enforced. If this crisis is not brought to an end soon..."  
  
Kagome turned off the TV, not wanting to see anymore. The image winked out abruptly and the young girl sat alone in her apartment with only her thoughts. Those ads made her feel a little uncomfortable. Despite the fact that they worked for the greater good, it still didn't put her mind at ease to be reminded of how she was hiding her nature as a psion from everyone except her family.  
  
Kagome drew her knees up to her chest and sighed. Her powers had first started manifesting when she was fifteen. Fortunately, her family worked with her to try and control them. It was a mixed blessing, really. Her strange healing powers were only the tip of the iceberg, but it would certainly come in handy when she got to medical school.  
  
For the time being however, Kagome had just moved into her new apartment after graduating from high school. The hectic life she had lead from trying to cope with her new powers had brought her to the decision to take a year off before going to college. She was in the top of her class, after all. It wasn't like there was a risk that she wouldn't get accepted. She just needed time off to get things straightened out and hope that the tensions between humans and psions would eventually die down. Of course, that last part certainly wasn't about to happen in the span of just one year. That was wishful thinking at best.  
  
Kagome glanced up at the dry-erase calendar on the far wall. June 16th, 2033. Had it really been three years ago today when her powers manifested for the first time? Shaking her head to clear it of that thought, Kagome stood up and walked over to the calendar to see what plans she had made for today. She still had to finish shopping for furniture. A little decoration around the place would be nice. As it was, there were only the posters and brick-a-brack from her original bedroom and the nice African violet her mother had given her that was now on an endtable next to the window. Tomorrow she was going to visit her grandfather in the hospital. He had thrown out his back trying to help Kagome get moved in and would be in therapy for at least another two weeks.  
  
Heaving a sigh, Kagome gathered up her purse, baseball cap, and her keys and went out of the apartment building to her car below. The best place to go for the kind of stuff she was looking for would be Lion's Share Imports. They always had a good selection. She mused over that thought a minute as the gentle hum of the electric engine came to life and the air conditioner began to push the hot, stale air out of the car.  
  
As she drove down the streets, Kagome couldn't help but continually glance at the occassional driver or pedestrian. It was mostly becasue she knew that they were more than they appeared. In the last year, she found herself being able to detect auras. The family doctor, Kaede, had said it was because part of her psionic talents was an enhanced sense of energy fields. All human beings emitted minor amounts of various forms of energy which is where the concept of auras came from. If Kagome concentrated, she could see auras that described a person's mood, health, or state of mind.  
  
The individuals she was looking at however gave off a different kind of aura. These were psions like her. They had a very distinct energy about them that set them apart from other people. It was at once a little discomforting and reassuring. On the one hand, it only made her feel that much more distant from the human race. On the other, it's nice to know you're not alone.  
  
Wanting to get rid of these thoughts, Kagome turned on the radio. Much to her relief, they were playing one of her favorite bands, Idols of Fortune. Them and Ninja Pirate. One thing you could always count on was music and movies. Even when the entertainment industry went through a cycle where style mattered more than substance, good stuff managed to find its way through the woodwork and never discriminated. Kind of strange to get comfort in that, but hey, sometimes you just take what you can get. The next day, Kagome arrived at the hospital to find her grandfather sitting upright in his adjustable bed reading a book, half-moon reading glasses perched on the edge of his sharp nose. He looked up from his reading and his face broke out into a large smile. "Why, Kagome! I see you found time in your new busy life to visit your old grandfather."  
  
Kagome just giggled. "Gramps, come on," she said sweetly. "You knew I was coming today. I can't help but feel a little guilty here."  
  
"It wasn't your fault that box had a vendetta against me," he replied in a joking voice.  
  
"How's your back feeling?" Kagome asked as she sat down at his bedside.  
  
"Oh, better," the old man answered. "Still a little tender. But at the end of each session I get to spend some time in the hot tub, so it makes it difficult to complain."  
  
"The doctor did say that you were pulling through remarkably well for your age."  
  
"And just what is that supposed to mean young lady?" His tone was slightly scolding, but there was still a smile in his eyes.  
  
Kagome just shook her head. "Just that you're not as young as you used to be."  
  
Gramps just gave a fake scoff. "Just because my hips aren't made of bone anymore..."  
  
It did Kagome's heart a lot of good to see her grandfather like this. He was in his seventies now, but he still remained young in heart and mind. He'd probably keep it up for the rest of his life, too.  
  
As Kagome continued to make small talk with her grandfather, she became aware of a strange aura. It wasn't that it had suddenly appeared. She simply stumbled on it by accident when she wasn't paying much attention to her thoughts. There was something about it that was so unusual... In ways it was like a psion's aura, but there were certain differences in it that set it apart and made it unbelievably difficult to describe. There was... a great power in whoever created the aura, but it was dormant as if the person was asleep or in a coma. But there wasn't any sickliness to it, so it couldn't have been one of the patients. What's more, there seemed to be an almost primitive, feral element that confused Kagome to no end. She had never felt anything like it before. It was faint though, so it seemed to be very little wonder that she had never detected it during her last two visits this year. But what was causing it?  
  
"Kagome?" She was snapped out of her thoughts by her grandfather's voice and his hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"  
  
"Huh? Y-yeah. Just... my powers are getting kind of wonky." Well, that wasn't exactly a lie.  
  
"Hmm. Maybe you should schedule an appointment with Kaede." At his granddaughter's nod, he visibly brightened. "Well anyway, my next therapy session starts in a few minutes. Why don't you run along, dear? I'm sure you have better things to do today than watch a few doctors messing with my spine."  
  
Kagome smiled softly and stood. She and Gramps kissed each other on the cheek as they said their goodbyes. As Kagome walked down the halls, that aura began nagging at her again. When she reached the ground floor, it was stronger than ever. As was the temptation to find it.  
  
Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, Kagome slipped off, trying to track down the source of the strange aura. She maneuvered carefully through the hall until she found herself looking down the stairs into the basement. There was nothing down there but medical supplies, so what the hell was a bizarre aura doing down here? Didn't a scene like this belong in some bad movie?  
  
Taking one last look back, Kagome descended the stairs and into the basement. It was well-lit, and lined wall to wall with all sorts of supplies one would expect to be in a hospital. At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.  
  
Kagome contemplated turning back when she spotted a door at the far end of the room, half-concealed by boxes of various surgical tools and tubing on a shelf that had been put up in front of it. She knew that whatever it was she was looking for was behind that door.  
  
She cautiously approached. Upon closer inspection, it looked as if that door hadn't been used in years. Judging from the way everything was arranged in front of it, the attendants probably never saw a need to use the room behind it. That in itself was kind of strange.  
  
Kagome carefully removed the boxes from the shelves and reached back to turn the lever of the door handle. It resisted slightly from disuse, but clicked open anyway and the door slowly moved back with a squeal from the hinges which had fallen into disrepair. She peered through the shelves into the room and what she saw caused her breath to catch in her throat. At the far end of the room was a strange apparatus that looked like some kind of large tube with a glass front. Inside of the tube was a young man with pale skin and a lean, strong build. He wore only a pair of white drawstring trousers. His hands hung at his sides, fingers ending in small claws. His eyes were closed and he appeared to be sleeping. But the most shocking features about him were his waist-length silver hair and the two triangular dog ears at the top of his head.  
  
Kagome took a moment to stare, just trying to figure what it was she had found. After it became painfully obvious that she had found someone, in who knows what kind of state, in some kind of weird pod in the hospital basement, she was torn. One part of her wanted to run as fast as she could out of their and call the police. The other wanted to satisfy her curiosity and try to learn a little more. It was the latter half that eventually won.  
  
She climbed through the shelves slowly and with much hesitation began to move closer to the strange pod. As Kagome got closer, she saw something she hadn't noticed before. There was a small, circular object on the young man's chest over the heart. The center was red and looked like a button. Four thin little claws extended from the sides and were lodged into the flesh beneath them. Whatever it was, it didn't look like it was good for him.  
  
Kagome swallowed audibly, feeling as if something was about to blindside her as soon as she let her guard down. This whole experience was just so unreal. She tentatively reached a hand out to the glass and touched it to make sure it wasn't just some dream. It was clear that this was the source of the strange aura. She concetrated a little and tried to focus in on it. The boy inside was definately alive, but he wasn't exactly sleeping either. It was like he was... was in suspended animation. There was no other way to describe it. Just like his entire body had been hit with one big "PAUSE" button.  
  
Curious to see if there was more to this, Kagome concentrated a little harder, trying to summon up her powers to see if there was more to this that she couldn't see. Maybe he had some kind of disease, or maybe she could find out his age. Anything would be better than continuing to stew in confusion and dread. Her hands glowed faintly pink and after a moment, the boy inside jerked as if he had been shocked.  
  
Kagome jumped back, holding back a cry of alarm. She hadn't meant to do that. But she nearly panicked when a small display on the side of the pod began blinking in bold red letters "ABORT."  
  
Abort? Kagome did not like where this was going. She cringed as a loud hiss escaped from the pod and the glass door slowly swung up. The young man inside remained still, but now he was out in the open, still unconscious in his slightly reclined position.  
  
Kagome licked her lips nervously. What if she just made a mistake? Would he die? Would he wake up? She stepped forward cautiously and reached out a hand to check his pulse. His skin was warm, but there was no pulse. He didn't feel dead, though. His aura showed that he was still alive. What was going on here?  
  
Kagome glanced up at the ears on top of the young man's head and bit her lip as she felt a pull in her hands. "Might as well get it out of my system," she thought aloud, and reached up to rub his ears a little. There was no response, however.  
  
Sighing slightly in relief, Kagome looked down to the little device on the boy's chest. She curiously reached out to touch it. Cold metal. The tiny little claws had gone in between the ribs and left tiny tracks in the skin until they went so deep they vanished. Kagome experimentally pressed her fingertip to the small red center and snapped her hand back in shock when it lit up. The tiny claws drew up out of the skin back into the device itself which rolled harmlessy off onto the floor.  
  
There was a tense pause. It was only a second but it felt like hours. When it was shattered, Kagome nearly screamed in surprise when the boy in the tube abruptly arched his back with a loud gasp and his eyelids shot open to reveal bright golden eyes.  
  
Author's Notes: Good to get that out of the way. Now to get back to Lights, Camera, Action! Oh, by the way, if a couple paragraphs seem to not make sense, it's because the damn site is being a pain in the ass again. As I type this, the editor won't let me seperate a couple of paragraphs and it apparently has decided not to recognize hyphens anymore. I would rant, but that's already been done in the author's notes of chapter 10 in LCA!  



	2. Displaced

Author's Notes: Well, it's busy with week. And at the time I'm writing this I don't know when I'll be finished. Maybe this week, maybe the next. I don't know. At least I have a free minute here and now.

Dawn of a New Age

Chapter 2- Displaced

Kagome stood still as a statue in shock. The strange boy in the tube had just woken up, but he hadn't seemed to have gotten over the shock that occurred when he came out of that weird sleep he had been in. His clawed hands dug into the cushioning underneath his back as his eyes slowly came into focus. As his breathing returned to normal, he turned to face Kagome and immediately jolted as if he had been hit.

"You!" he snarled venomously. Kagome took a step back, feeling a chill of fear creeping up her spine at the tone in his voice. "Where the hell am I?!"

It took Kagome a second to find her voice. "Th-the hospital. In the basement."

"What the hell are you talking abou-" He paused uncertainly a moment, his nose twitching as if testing the air. He narrowed his eyes at Kagome suspiciously and climbed out of the tube with a predatory grace. He stalked over to her until he was right up in her face, sniffing slowly and carefully.

Despite the fact that she was still anxious and a little tentative, Kagome was also feeling a little embarassed with his proximity. Apparently this guy didn't have much of a concept of personal space. "Um..." she started hesitantly, "what are you-"

"You're not Kikyo," the strange boy said flatly.

Kagome lifted an eyebrow. Who the hell was Kikyo? Obviously someone he wasn't too happy with. "No. My name is Kagome. Kagome Higu-"

"Where the hell did you say I was again?" the boy snapped as he turned and looked around the room.

Kagome felt herself being less nervous and more annoyed. She could understand someone in his situation would probably be upset, but what was with his attitude? "I told you, you're in the basement of the hospital and-"

"Where?"

"Will you stop interrupting me?" Kagome snapped irritably. This was getting really old, really fast. "I know you've probably got some questions, but so do I. Like, what were you doing in that tube-thing?"

The boy looked over at the tube he had been in moments ago and slowly walked over to it. "A stasis pod..." he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "So that's what they did with me." He then kneeled down and picked up the tiny button that had been latched onto his chest only a moment ago. He stared at it hatefully as if glaring at it could destroy it.

Kneeled over, Kagome saw his hair part to reveal a tattoo on his back. It was in a black-green ink and seemed to show a serial number. "What's that?" she asked, reaching out slowly.

The boy reached back and felt at the tattoo. When his fingers moved, Kagome got a good look at it.

**64-027-C  
Inuyasha**

She read it aloud once, and the boy visibly tensed. He tossed his head once so that his hair obscured the mark once more. "Inuyasha," Kagome repeated. "Is that your name?" Strangely, it sounded like it would be. She wasn't sure why, but she just had a suspicion that was his name.

The boy just shrugged uncomfortably. "Yeah," he said after a brief pause.

"Y-you said that... thing," Kagome said gesturing to the tube, "was a stasis pod. Who put you in there?"

"None of your god damn business," Inuyasha snapped. He returned to inspecting the tube. "What the hell?"

Kagome looked over his shoulder and saw that he'd found a digital display on the side that showed the date. June 17, 2033. "What's wrong?"

"This stupid thing must be busted," Inuyasha grumbled.

"Why do you say that?" Kagome asked. "That is today's date."

Inuyasha shot her a glare over his shoulder. "Do you or do you not see the year it's showing, bitch?"

Kagome gave him a glare for that insult before she realized what he was going on about. "Wait a second, what year was it when you were put in there?"

Inuyasha paused for a moment, studying her. "'83," he said simply, as if it were obvious.

Kagome gasped and her eyes widened. Did he mean 1983? If he had been in there that long... but that just raised further questions! What was technology like this doing in the 1980's? Medical engineers today still hadn't gotten it right. Was he part of an early generation of psions? But if he was, why were his physical mutations so dramatic? No psion had ever been born looking that different. Was he being studied by the people who put him in there? And this just went back to the question of who put him in there in the first place.

"What?" Inuyasha asked quizzically, his anxiety slowly becoming obvious.

"Inuyasha, that clock isn't wrong. It's the year 2033." No sense in trying to hide it. As soon as he saw the outside world, he was going to realize that fifty years had gone by. How was he going to handle that, though?

Inuyasha started in shock, turning to face Kagome and staring hard to see if she was lying. After he seemed satisfied that she was telling the truth, he sat back and leaned back against the pod. "Fifty years... Maybe that means... they're gone..."

What was he going on about? Maybe Kagome could get some kind of insight into what was going on. "Who's gone?"

Inuyasha seemed to realize that he'd been thinking aloud and immediately tensed up, looking away with a grunt. "Feh. It's not important."

Kagome supressed a sigh of frustration. He was being so difficult. "Look, we can't stay here. Is there some place you can go that would be safe?"

Kagome realized only after she spoke that fifty years didn't make a difference to some things. Inuyasha's silence was obvious. He had nowhere to go. Nowhere that he wanted to go, anyway. Maybe fifty years ago things weren't so great for him either. In fact, he looked like he couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry. It was so strange. In that moment, Kagome couldn't help but feel the need to try and do something for the poor guy. "Tell you what. I'll sneak you out, and you can crash at my apartment for a while until-"

"I don't want your fucking pity!" Inuyasha snapped angrily. His eyes looked almost resentful.

Kagome suddenly realized that this was all about his pride. He thought she pitied him like you would a wounded animal. That would really hurt anybody's ego. But she didn't pity him. She didn't really know what she felt right now. It was unfortunate that he just woke up to find fifty years had passed him by, but right now what he needed was a friendly hand, not someone pouting and tsking over his situation without actually doing anything about it. "I don't pity you, you know," Kagome said slowly. "I just want to help. I don't like seeing anybody in trouble."

Inuyasha looked up at her questioningly before finally hanging his head in resignation. "Fine. Let's just get the hell out of here."

"First we need to get you a disguise. You kind of stand out in a crowd."

-X-

Inuyasha was a little uncomfortable at first in the hospital scrubs and slippers that Kagome had given him. She had told him to tuck his hair into his shirt to hide it and then shoved a baseball cap over his head to conceal his ears which muffled his hearing in a really unpleasant way. But she seemed to know what she was doing so he didn't argue.

As they made their way out of the basement, she told him to try and act casual, keep a low profile. He knew why as soon as they came through the lobby. Inuyasha had never been in a public place before. He felt a little intimidated by all of these people. All these new scents clashing with the nauseating sterile smell of the hospital itself caused his stomach to knot up a little. He got a couple funny looks, but he just followed Kagome's advice and kept his mouth shut and his eyes down.

When they got out to her car, he couldn't help but stare a minute at the sleek, silver vehicle. It didn't look like any kind he'd ever seen before. And there was no smell of gasoline. Weird. He looked up to see all the cars going by on the road. They all lacked the scent of exhaust. Judging by some of the other scents wafting through the air, this future thing was going to take some getting used to. Then again, this whole freedom thing was going to take some getting used to.

The doors of Kagome's car opened vertically rather than swinging out to the side like Inuyasha had been expecting. He climbed in and noted the pristine, heady smell of the vinyl seats and the sound of the engine producing a gentle hum. For some reason, being in suspended animation must have messed with his senses. Inuyasha felt like he was picking up on an old skill he hadn't used in years, making up for lost time in a matter of minutes through practice and memory. Of course, that made him feel a little uncomfortable. What other side effects were there to that damn pod?

The drive was silent as Inuyasha stared out the window, marvelling at the modern city. He had never had the chance to go out in the open before. He'd only seen pictures. This was new and... kind of exciting, too. The tall, gleaming buidlings of glass and steel, the busy streets, the river which he had heard was badly polluted but now looked as pure as drinking water. There was so much to hear, see, and smell. It was almost overwhelming. But Kagome's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"By the way, I meant to ask earlier. Are you a psion?"

Inuyasha looked over at her confused. A what now? "What's a psion?"

Kagome looked like she was mentally smacking her forehead. "Oh, that's right! That term didn't get coined until a few years ago. Well... a psion is someone with... one or more of the lobes in their brain developed differently. So they have powers like telepathy, psychokinesis, thought projection..."

"Oh, those," Inuyasha replied. "In that case, I guess I am." That and a Moreau. But he didn't dare breathe a word of that. Not yet, anyway. He'd wait to see if he could trust her first.

Fifty years had passed. No doubt the world had changed. And maybe the Project was over. Why else would they have abandoned his stasis pod in a hospital basement? How did it get there anyway? And what exactly _had_ happened to the Project? Argh, too many questions and no answers to speak of. This was going to be a long day.

-X-

Author's Notes: Finished this faster than I thought. A little short, maybe, but it's not like I have a whole hell of a lot of time at the moment. Maybe this weekend I can get some more stuff done.

For fans of Let the Music Be Your Master, you might be pleased to know that I've finally begun work on lyrics for some of Damage Control's songs. My first one is Bad Moon. I'll post that along with Chapter 12 or 13 of Lights, Camera, Action!.

Anyway, that's about it for now. Here's to my reviewers...

Father Malvado: Does this answer your question? And no, I don't know much about that, though I have seen some real life stunts along those lines. Google may not work, but I'll still try to dig up some information.

Mimiko: Good to know you like the powers, because I plan to take those in some interesting directions.

Meka-chan: I have a lot of high hopes for this one. Let's see if I can pull it off.

Izayoi: Huh. Didn't know that. Oh well. That'll make it easier to get the DVDs... maybe. I can't remember what logic I was using there.

Mockingbirdflyaway: It's the quick-edit feature that caused those screw-ups. Piece of crap program... It still won't recognize symbols like hyphens and asterisks.

bluefuzzyelf: Would you believe I made up that thing on his chest on the spot?

Magellan-chan: I... kinda think I get it... But I confuse easily, so...

DarkRoses217: I hope that bit of exposition toward the end answered your question. I've always had a thing for psions.

crazy madness: Thank you. If ideas from my dreams are all this popular, I should keep a dream journal or hook a DVD recorder up to my brain or something.


	3. Trust

**Author's Notes:** Okay, at the time I'm writing this, there are a lot of other things I should be doing... but I'm not. I feel like a dumbass for it, but whadda ya gonna do? Getting these thoughts out of my head and on paper, so to speak, makes it easier for me to focus later and eventually get to sleep.

I'm pleased to see so many people happy with the story so far. As you can imagine, there's a distinctive challenge in writing for this one. True sci-fi is about the people, not the techno-babble. And yet I have to write from two very different perspectives. On the one hand, Kagome takes all of the futuristic technology I've dreamed up for granted, so I have to write it in subtly, as if it's perfectly routine. But when I write for Inuyasha, he's seeing this stuff for the first time.

So I have to tread a fine line here and make sure the setting doesn't end up upstaging the characters. Let's see how well I pull that one off.

**-x-**

Dawn of a New Age

Chapter 3- Trust

Kagome cast a few curious glances at Inuyasha throughout the entire trip home. She could only begin to imagine what had happened to him. Whatever it was must have been pretty traumatic if he was so vehemently opposed to talking about it. She would have to find some way to get him to open up and trust her. But that was going to be easier said than done. It was pretty clear already that he had some pride issues. And waking up from what seemed to have been a rather unpleasant life to discover that fifty years were gone in the blink of an eye was going to rattle anyone's cage.

"Inuyasha," she started carefully.

He just glanced over at her once before staring back out the window, obviously engrossed in all the sights. Hadn't he ever seen a city before? Every passing minute with him just raised further questions.

"Listen," she went on, "I think it would be best if we took a few days at my apartment to get you settled in. This Tuesday we'll take a chance and go out to get you some clothes. Is that okay?"

Inuyasha's response was a simple grunt. "Keh."

"I'm going to assume that meant 'yes,'" Kagome said flatly. They'd only been together for an hour and he was already being a pain in the ass. This was going to be harder than Kagome had first thought.

They pulled into the parking lot of the apartment building and climbed out of the car which Inuyasha still seemed slightly uncomfortable around. Kagome remembered a couple old movies she saw set in the 1980's. Things looked pretty different back then. It must be kind of a culture shock for him.

As they went up the stairs to her floor, Kagome glanced back at Inuyasha as he solemnly followed her. "Make yourself at home when we get in. I'll make us some coffee if you want any. I just want to take a minute to sit and ta-" She was abruptly cut off by a sharp yelp followed by a crash. She whirled around to see Inuyasha sprawled out on the ground face-down in obvious pain.

"Inuyasha are you okay?"

Inuyasha picked himself with some colorful language. "Just tripped," he grumbled. But something seemed to be bugging him. As if he was thinking hard but getting nowhere.

"Okay," Kagome said uncertainly. "Like I was saying, I just want to sit and ta-" She was cut off once again. This time, it was obvious he didn't trip. He practically threw himself to the ground. What the hell was going on here?

After a moment of lying in pain, Inuyasha got up once again. This time, a sudden flash of recognition and realization hit his face and he looked at Kagome in a mixture of irritation, horror, and anger. She felt a little nervous under his gaze until he stood up and brushed himself off. His language was even more colorful than before.

"What just happened?" Kagome asked, completely lost.

"It's nothing," Inuyasha grumbled. "Just... just don't say that word."

"What word?" Now what was he talking about?

Inuyasha paused for a minute. "Sit," he growled out. Saying that obviously was a huge blow to his pride. But it didn't really clarify things. Why shouldn't she say "sit?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes at her expression and answered the unspoken question. "Everytime you say 'sit' I end up kissing concrete." He then grumbled something that Kagome almost didn't catch. "Like a fuckin' lapdog."

Once again, that brought even more questions. Why did that word cause him to do that? Of course, it seemed he was pretty self-aware of his canine appearance. The way he talked, that "sit" thing must have felt pretty demeaning. Not that she blamed him. But how did this all come about?

"This just brings me back to where I started," Kagome sighed as she moved to her door. "I want to help you, Inuyasha. But until you're ready to talk to me, there's not much I can do." She looked over her shoulder as she got the key to her apartment out and saw Inuyasha giving her a very considering look before their eyes met, at which point he quickly glanced off to the side. Well, that was something _like_ progress anyway.

Kagome slid the key into the hole and hit the button. The lock immediately popped open and she swung the door open into her nice air-conditioned apartment. The furnishing was still a little spartan. The living room had only a sofa and recliner, coffee table, and TV. The kitchen had an open window next to the entryway into it that gave you a full view of the living room. The two bedrooms were off to either side, each with their own bathrooms and closets. Kagome had been planning to turn the second bedroom into a home office, but that would have to wait now.

Remembering to watch her language for the dreaded S-word, Kagome ushered Inuyasha in and shut the door behind her. "I'm going to go make that coffee. You want any?"

Inuyasha seemed to hesitate for a moment before answering. "Sure." He quickly removed the baseball cap Kagome had given him, the one she had been wearing when she went to visit Gramps, and tossed it to the floor as his ears twitched and turned wildly like they were celebrating their sudden freedom from the hat.

Kagome snatched up her hat and proceeded to the kitchen, all the while trying to ignore the huge temptation to once again start rubbing and scratching his ears. "How do you take your coffee?" she asked, looking through the window into the living room. Inuyasha had made his way to the couch and was trying to figure the remote for the TV out.

"Uh... black?" he said, as if unsure of himself. He soon managed to get the TV on and watched the news pretty closely. Kagome saw him leaning forward intently as he watched the anchorman talk about tensions rising in North Africa before moving on to a story about how Senator Cole was going to go into court next week under charges of bribery. Those two stories had been filling the headlines for weeks. Kagome herself was getting a little sick of the latter. How could one corrupt politician be so shocking that they felt the need to continue talking about him even with the possibility of ethnic cleansing in Africa looming on the horizon? That was modern media for you. The only priority or loyalty they had was to The Almighty Dollah.

The coffee was soon finished. Kagome loaded her own full of cream and sugar. Taking coffee black was just too bitter, too strong. It made her want to gag. But some people liked it that way, so whatever. She carried the two mugs out to the living room and sat down beside Inuyasha. She made sure to give him ample personal space, since he didn't seem too comfortable with human contact, and set his mug down in front of him on the table.

He tentatively accepted it and sniffed the contents. He blew on it and sipped slowly. A grimace crossed his face and he blinked a few times before staring down into the mug.

Kagome lifted a brow, slightly annoyed. "I know I don't brew the best coffee in the world, but it can't be that bad."

Inuyasha seemed to be trying very hard to avoid making eye contact. "No, it's just..." At this point he started mumbling and Kagome barely managed to make out what he was saying. "I just never had coffee before."

And it was right back to the questions. Kagome sighed and set her mug down on a coaster. "Look, Inuyasha, I hate to repeat myself, but I hope you can come to trust me because at this point I don't know enough to help you."

Inuyasha sat still for a moment, mulling that over in his mind. His eyes took on a far off quality and he seemed to be seriously considering something. At last he looked over at Kagome, his yellow eyes boring into her as if trying to burn away anything she may have put up to hide the truth from him. "You don't work for the government, do you?"

Kagome raised an eyebrow, but figured it best to answer his question. "No, I only just graduated high school." What did government work have to do with anything?

Inuyasha nodded and went thoughtful for another moment. "Does... does anyone around here know about... about something called..." He almost seemed afraid to finish that sentence. "P-... Project: Moreau?"

Kagome furrowed her brow in thought. "No, I've never heard of it. But that name sounds familiar. I know I heard it somewhere..."

Inuyasha's eyes noticeably widened and tensed up. "W-where?"

Kagome edged away slightly. He was starting to look like a cornered animal ready to fight. She searched her memory for that name. Where had she heard it? Wait... "Now I remember. 'The Island of Doctor Moreau' by H.G. Wells. I had to read that book in high school."

Inuyasha visibly relaxed. He pursed his lips slightly and stared off into space. "So you recognize the name. But you've never heard of a Project: Moreau?"

Kagome shook her head. What did all this mean? These questions were really starting to bug her. "Never heard of it. What is it? Or was, as the case may be."

"I don't wanna talk about it," Inuyasha grumbled, drawing his arms together and clutching his elbows. He sent a glance over at Kagome. "Not yet, anyway."

An uncomfortable silence passed for a moment before Inuyasha chose to break it. "You know, you got a lotta questions about me, but I know almost nothing about you."

Kagome blushed at the realization. She smiled nervously and apologetically. "Sorry. Just ask me anything."

"Okay. How old are you?"

Strange way to start, but okay. "I'm 19."

"Do you have a family?"

"Yes. My mother, grandfather, and younger brother live in a nice little place about half-an-hour from here."

"Are you one of those psions you talked about earlier?"

"Yes. But I'm still kind of growing into my powers."

"Why did you want to live alone?"

Kagome coudln't help but blush at that one. It wasn't something she was prepared for. "I guess I just wanted to be able to live my own life, as hokey as that sounds. Like I just needed to do things for myself now that I could."

This went on for a while. Like an hour. Cold coffee was not helping. Inuyasha questioned everything he saw. He had never seen a flat-panel TV, modern locks, electric cars. He didn't even recognize the coffee machine in the kitchen for one at first, saying the ones in his time looked a lot different. It was cute at first, but it was starting to get old. At least it was getting Inuyasha to ease up a little more.

And then it happened.

"What exactly do you do? What's your job?" The question had been innocent enough.

"Well, right now I work as a waitress at a Japanese theme restaurant. But I really want to be a doctor." And so was the answer.

But Inuyasha didn't seem to think so. His eyes widened in shock and he recoiled as if hit. "What?"

Kagome was feeling very confused right now. What had she said? "Inuyasha, what's wrong?"

"What kind of doctor?" He seemed to be desperately hoping that whatever it was that had come over him was nothing. Like everything depended on her answer.

"Just general medicine," Kagome answered. "You know, work out of a small clinic, doing family work."

There was a long and anxious pause. The tension was almost unbearable. Inuyasha once more looked like a cornered animal, defensive and desperate. Kagome didn't dare make any sudden movements. His clawed hands looked ready to lash out at any second. And neither one of them really seemed to know what to say.

"Do you... do you use knives on people?" Inuyasha asked at last.

"What?" Kagome didn't exactly feel relieved by that.

"Knives. Do you use blades on people? Or needles?"

Blades? Wait, did he mean scalpels? "You mean like surgery? No. No, I don't have the stomach to be a surgeon." She decided to avoid mentioning needles for the time being.

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes in consideration before he looked away again. "Surgery, huh? So that's what they call it."

"Did you have some kind of bad experience with a surgeon in the past?" Kagome asked gently.

There was another pause before Inuyasha looked back at her. "Something like that." It was pretty clear he didn't want to continue their conversation any further than that.

Kagome sighed gently, deciding it was best to just let things go for the time being. Bickering with him wasn't going to do either of them any good right now. "I'll go set up the futon in your room and start dinner," she said absently.

**-x-**

Inuyasha layed back in the futon staring at the ceiling. He couldn't sleep. Too many thoughts. Most of them about Kagome. She had been the first person to treat him like an equal. She took him in, she offered him room and board, and she didn't even attempt to report him to the authorities. She even knew about his VST and she didn't try to abuse or exploit it.

He wondered if he'd be able to overcome this one like he did the last. God, he hated those things. Whoever came up with the verbal subjugation triggers must have been one sick fuck. What kind of sadistic mind would take so much pleasure in humiliating the Moreaus like that? Naraku, probably. Inuyasha wouldn't put anything past that bastard. Whatever happened to him anyway?

Feh. He'd probably wasted away by now. It had been fifty years. That probably meant that Sesshoumaru was dead, too. Unless they put him in suspended animation as well. And Kikyo was probably dead as well. Thoughts of that woman made Inuyasha's blood boil almost as much as Naraku. And to think that he trusted her.

Strangely, Kagome looked like her. Well, kind of. A little... Okay the resemblance was only a first glance kind of thing. The only reason he made the mistake in the first place was because his senses were still dull from coming out of stasis. Kagome had different eyes and hair. And her scent was much different too, a lot nicer. Not that he would ever admit that out loud. She smelled like... like... Gah. He didn't have nearly enough experience outside to be able to place that scent. Something about it tickled the memories at the back of his mind, but for the life of him he couldn't figure it out. It danced on the edge of recollection, teasing him and taunting him, but always staying out of reach.

Inuyasha flicked his ears once, the only sound in the apartment coming from the air conditioning flowing through the vents. The place was still. He hated it. Stillness reminded him too much of solitary confinement. It seemed that even though he was free, escaping the past was going to be a lot harder than he had imagined.

Sighing in frustration, Inuyasha at last kicked the sheets off and got out of bed. If he couldn't get any sleep, he might as well find something to do other than stare at the ceiling and walls. He was still wearing only the scrubs from the hospital, but that was fine. He had gotten used to wearing things like that.

As he moved to the door, Inuyasha caught a look at himself in the mirror on the dresser. It wasn't that he didn't know what he looked like. Just that he didn't get a chance to see himself very often. He ran a clawed hand over his torso, brushing past parts of him that housed painful memories. His accelerated healing had long ago wiped out the scars. And now that he was free from the Project, it all felt so unreal. It had literally felt like the blink of an eye when Kikyo fastened the restrainer to his chest to when he awoke to see Kagome. But now it seemed so far away. He wasn't sure how to feel about that.

His hand went up to his ears and he frowned slightly. How he hated those things. Whenever the guards wanted to abuse him, that was the first thing they went for. They would have been torn away long ago if it weren't for the fact that all the scars and missing pieces had just grown back in. And it was because of these ears that he would be dependent on Kagome even after he figured out how to get by in this time. Everyone would look at him the same way as his captors had. He wasn't human. In some of their eyes he didn't deserve to live.

But then, why did Kagome treat him so kindly? She had said she wanted to be a doctor. But she didn't act like any doctor he had ever seen. Maybe it was just the ones involved in the Project who did all that? Inuyasha just shook his head. So many questions and not enough answers.

He turned away from his reflection and walked out the door. Pale moonlight poured into the living room through the windows, giving the place an ethereal glow. He made his way to the kitchen and began to search for the cupboard with the glasses in it. Which one had Kagome used? He eventually figured it out and filled one of the glasses with water which he promptly gulped down. It felt kind of strange being able to wander around without fear of punishment. But it was kind of nice, too. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

His ears twitched in the direction of Kagome's room and he stood perfectly still at the sound of her soft footfalls before she opened the door. She came around the corner a moment later and jumped back with a gasp before sighing in relief. "Sorry Inuyasha. I just got used to living alone these last couple days so I'm not used to having company."

Inuyasha just grunted softly in response. He didn't really mind. But what was he supposed to say? He knew from listening to the doctors talk that language was supposed to be really complicated, but they had taught him just enough to scrape by in the Project. It was hard trying to put words to what he was thinking. Then again, it wasn't like he ever really had a whole lot to say. In his conversation earlier today, he had talked more in one hour than he had in a year before.

"You couldn't sleep either, huh?" Kagome asked softly as she got a glass of water for herself. He watched her closely as she crossed from the cupboard to the sink. She was surprisingly graceful. And he had to admit, that she didn't need to try very hard to be beautiful. Even with her hair messed up and dressed in a pair of baggy pants and an oversized shirt, she looked really pretty.

It occurred to him that he wasn't wearing a shirt himself. It elicited a small thrill which raced up his spine. Despite having very little non-hostile human contact, he knew very well what the Four F's of self-preservation were. Feeding, Fighting, Fleeing... and Fucking. There was a part of his mind fixating on that. It was a part of him that didn't deal well with the concept of abstract thought. A part of him that was supposed to be a trump card... A part of him that was easily controlled for the time being.

As Kagome stepped away, he went back to the sink to refill his glass. He spotted her from the corner of his eyes. She was giving his bare upper body a rather appreciative look and a light blush touched her cheeks when she seemed to have caught herself doing so, but she didn't attempt to turn her eyes away. Was she really looking at him like that or was he seeing things? Didn't she find him in the least bit repulsive? Didn't she realize that he wasn't human? Everyone else he had ever known certainly seemed to get it. So what was with her?

He gulped down his second glass of water quickly, hoping childishly that it would wash down the nagging questions and doubts that were starting to catch in his throat. It washed away the symptom, but not the cause. He slowly turned to Kagome who snapped her eyes up to meet his, her blush deepening. "Now what?" he asked.

Kagome gave a light sigh and smiled flatly. "Well, I still have another day off tomorrow. And I know that I won't be getting back to sleep anytime soon. You want to watch a movie?"

Inuyasha had heard about movies before. Moving pictures on a screen in which people pretended to be other people to tell a story. It sounded kind of stupid, but he didn't really feel like arguing with her right now. His mind was just so weary, even though he knew he as far from sleeping as Kagome was. So he simply nodded and followed her into the living room.

The two sat down on the couch and Kagome picked up the remote. She turned on the TV and brought up a colorful menu. "Netflicks," explained. "The TV uses a phone line, and I can contact a company that allows me to buy a movie for one night and watch it right then and there... And it just occurred to me that I need to add the Internet to our lesson plan tomorrow. I don't think it became big until the 90's."

Inuyasha just shrugged. He had no idea what any of this meant, but couldn't really force himself to care at this particular moment. "What movie are we watching?"

"I was thinking Lord of the Rings," Kagome answered. "It's kind of an old movie, but it's new to you, I guess."

Inuyasha just kept quiet and watched. It was some kind of story with a bunch of humans and people with pointy ears and little people with hairy feet and another little person who was just plain hairy who were fighting these ugly looking things for a ring that was supposed to be really powerful and turned people invisible. It wasn't as stupid as he had thought it would be. The people were really good at pretending. Though one thing bugged him. "Kagome, where did they find so many people with pointy ears and stuff for this movie?"

Kagome looked at him confused for a second before she burst out laughing. "That's just make-up Inuyasha. No one really looks like that. I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you've never seen movies before?"

Inuyasha just shook his head and looked back at the screen. Well, at least some questions were easier to answer than others. This future world wasn't too bad. Confusing, but not bad. If all movies were like this one, he could get to like them. And if cars were electric now and didn't give off all that exhaust maybe they wouldn't be such a pain to be around. And those instant ramen noodles Kagome made for dinner were pretty good too.

Inuyasha didn't doubt for an instant that learning to catch up with fifty years would be hard. But what he wanted to know the most was what happened to the Project. He could care less what became of the other Moreaus. They weren't his concern. But he did need to know if the whole thing had gone belly-up or not. It was the only way to be sure that he'd ever be free. But if no one had heard of Project: Moreau how could he find out what happened to it and... Why was Kagome getting all giggly over the guy with the bow and the pointy ears? More importantly, why did he care?

Inuyasha sighed inwardly and went back to watching the movie. Thinking really sucked.

**-x-**

Kagome awoke to feel the sun in her eyes. She stubbornly turned her head in the opposite direction and adjusted herself to get comfortable again. Strange. This didn't feel like her bed. It was comfortable, but in a different way. There wasn't any pillow... And it was breathing.

She snapped her eyes open and lifted her head. Beneath her was Inuyasha in a deep sleep. They were both sleeping on the sofa out in the living room. Kagome immediately felt her face flush. Though whether it was from being in such an awkward position or the fact that she rather liked waking up like this she couldn't tell.

The blush only got deeper when she noticed her hands resting on Inuyasha's chest. He was like one of those statues. Kagome was beginning to feel the urge to explore the rest of his physique which she had admired last night. Of course, that just made her embarassment even worse. Had she really been single _that_ long? It wasn't that Inuyasha was ugly or anything. Quite the opposite. But it didn't really help things to be practically drooling over him. She was supposed to be figuring out where he came from and how she could help him.

Kagome tried to slowly get off of him without waking him. That idea fell flat on its face when Inuyasha just grunted and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her back down to him. He also chose that moment to open his eyes. This of course just opened up a whole can of jellied awkward.

There was a moment of silence as the two stared into each other's eyes before the situation finally sank in. "Gyah!" Inuyasha pushed Kagome off of him and scrambled to the other end of the couch only to slip and fall to the floor in a crumpled heap. Kagome would have felt a little rejected if his attempt at an escape hadn't been so comical.

"I guess we fell asleep watching the movie," she said conversationally, hoping to put Inuyasha at ease again.

He just grumbled something unintelligible and sat with his back against the couch. His ears flicked back and forth a few times before settling. It seemed that talking wasn't one of his strong points. Instead he just sat there sort of sulking and staring at the floor. He had his arms crossed in the strangest way as well. They were hanging very low, almost in his lap. The angle didn't look terribly comfortable. It was almost as if he was trying to hide something.

And then it clicked. Kagome felt her face heat up once more at the realization of what she thought she had felt brush up against her leg when Inuyasha pushed her off of him. "I'm gonna go get a shower and then make us some breakfast," she said hurriedly as she bolted for the bathroom. She shut the door quickly without slamming it and heaved a sigh of relief. Right now, there were two distinct possibilities. Either her first thought was correct and living with Inuyasha for the time being was going to be _really_ awkward, or her second thought was the right one and he just had a case of morning wood. It was going to be a long weekend, that much was certain.

**-x-**

**Author's Notes:** Like I said, there are so many things I should be working on instead of this, but I'm not. I hope you people appreciate this because I'm going to be up late finishing the assignments that I procrastinated doing today to finish this chapter. And yes, I'm aware that it's a little randy. Get used to it. This story is going to have a lot more sexual tension than my previous works. It's going to get very risque very often. Sex, violence, and then some.

Anyway, next chapter will get interesting. We meet our antagonist, and shed some light on Project: Moreau. I figure that it's so key to the story, there's no point drawing it out more than a couple chapters.

Now, my reviewers...

**Meka-chan:** Good to know that I can make expsition sound interesting. Because there's going to be a lot of it in the next couple chapters.

**szmadad:** Congratulations. You're the only one who got the Moreau reference. The rest of you need to brush up on your classic sci-fi. On a side note, I should give credit where due. I got the idea to call Inuyasha a Moraeu based on the creatures in D20 Modern.

**DawnsLight:** That's kind of how I felt when I found Price of Freedom. I was all like "Ah, damn. Someone already had that idea." Of course, my storyline follows a much different path with a darker tone, so hopefully no one will think I'm being a hack.

**Magellan-chan:** Don't worry about going off on a tangent. That's what 90% of my trains of thought do. At least take some comfort in knowing that you'll know what a Moraeu is no later than the end of the month.

**Divine-Red-Crayon:** Well, maybe not a whole story, but it would be a really great scene. Hell, put that in a movie, I don't care what the rest of the flick is, I'll pay to see that.

**DarkRoses217:** It's mostly a matter of remembering your dreams. This isn't the first time I've plucked a decent idea out of there. Just the first one I've really taken the time to work with.

**Father Malvado:** I'm picking up a subtle message about shortness, here. Are we talking Lars Ulrich short or Verne Troyer short?

**bluefuzzyelf:** Well I did come up with it on the spot. I figured they'd have to restrain Inuyasha to get him in that pod. So how would they do that? And I thought about the arrow and came up with that little devic off the top of my head.

**Mukyuu Tenshi:** Parts of it will. But aside from some parallels I'm trying to make this an original story.

**Mimiko:** That's why I don't like soap operas. Gundam Wing alone gave me a headache when I missed one episode. General Hospital will probably kick my head open.


	4. Discovered

**Author's Notes: **As I write this, I had promised myself that I would be work on Chapter 13 of Lights, Camera, Action!, but I got really caught up in the idea for this chapter and knew that if I didn't write it down, I would lose it. Some of you might be annoyed with me, but to be fully honest, when writing you just have to go with what works. You can't force these. If you want them to not suck, that is.

**-x-**

Dawn of a New Age

Chapter 4- Discovery

The weekend went by quickly. Inuyasha was amazed by how far technology had progressed in fifty years. Though it seemed humans hadn't moved ahead much further than they had in 1983. He was a little disgusted to hear about what was happening in Africa. At first, he wasn't sure what they meant by "ethnic cleansing," but Kagome had explained to him that it was just a fancy term for genocide. That word Inuyasha recognized. He remembered Sesshoumaru and Koga being sent to the Middle East in '81 for that very purpose. It didn't pan out, though. They were back at headquarters in a month.

Humans were just stupid. They had the ability to make all these great things like movies, heavy metal, and ramen noodles, but all they ever wanted to do was find new ways to kill each other. He may not have been very bright, but even Inuyasha knew that the only two valid reasons for killing were to eat or keep from being eaten. And when you were at the top of the food chain, there wasn't a whole lot of need to keep from being eaten.

Still, Kagome seemed different. It seemed not all doctors were bad. Just the surgeons at the Project. She wanted to help people, fix them when they were sick and wounded. She said that doctors were supposed to help and heal, never harm. Someone should have told those bastards that. The night after he had fallen asleep with Kagome, Inuyasha had woken up to nightmares of his experiences on the cold steel tables, blades closing in on him.

The strange thing was, when he had woken up, he had wanted to go to Kagome and hear her voice. That had never happened before. There was just no way he could explain his reactions around her.

Except maybe lust. His mind still burned with memories of that morning. Her curvy form resting against his. His arm wrapped around her slender waist. Her petite hands spread out over his bare chest. It had only been maybe a second before he realized the situation he was in and tried to scramble away. But it was enough time for his erection to form. He had tried to hide it. What would Kagome think if she saw that? Maybe she had, since she had seemed like she was in such a rush to get to the bathroom and away from him. She must have been disgusted by the idea of a creature like him lusting after her.

A couple hours later, though, everything was back to normal. Well, as normal as it could be when you only had known someone for a day prior. And that's what brought him to today. They were going clothes shopping. Kagome had given Inuyasha a pair of sweat pants that were a size too small, one of her over-sized T-shirts, a pair of flip-flops, and a baseball cap. He couldn't help but feel like an idiot, though he wasn't entirely sure why. Maybe it was because all the humans he had seen in the brief time that they had been outside dressed a lot differently. But it wasn't like it mattered right now.

Inuyasha continued staring out the window for a while as Kagome drove. He wouldn't admit it, but he was feeling a little nervous about this. She had warned him that the mall would be really crowded. She would do all the talking and he just had to let her know if he approved of her choices. Seemed simple enough, but at the same time Inuyasha was really not looking forward to it.

They arrived in the mall parking lot, and Inuyasha immediately felt the alarm bells in his head go off. If there was only one human to each of these cars, the place would still be filled with them! What was so fascinating about these places that drew so many humans to them? Inuyasha climbed out of the car with Kagome and took a moment to steel himself up for this.

"Just stay cool," Kagome said reassuringly. She took his clawed hand in her own petite one and smile softly causing Inuyasha to look away before the blood had a chance to rush into his face. "Just follow my lead and don't make eye contact with anyone else. Like I told you before, some people don't like scions that much and your hair and eyes are a dead give-away." She had explained before that psions sometimes manifested unusual traits such as exotic hair and eye colors.

Inuyasha just nodded as they walked to the mall. Apparently psions didn't have it too easy these days. There was a lot of discrimination and not many laws to protect them. They didn't even legally count as humans because of their mutated DNA. That certainly didn't help things. All Inuyasha could do was hope they didn't run into any of the people Kagome had described. It wasn't that he was afraid of them. After all, he was a Moreau; genetically superior to humans. No, he was more worried about Kagome. If they saw she was a psion, they would try to hurt her. And if anyone laid a single hand on her, Inuyasha swore that he would break every bone in their body, tear their limbs off, and then if they were lucky, he would let them die.

He wasn't sure why he was being so protective of Kagome, but there was no time for thinking about that. The double-glass doors opened on their own and Inuyasha was assaulted by a deluge of sounds and smells that threatened to overwhelm him. There were obnoxious digital sounds; the cries of babies; the shrill voices of children; the endless babbling of teenagers; the incessant droning of adults; the pounding of hundreds, possibly thousands of footsteps; the splashing of a fountain... It was enough to make his head spin.

And then the smells. Food, body odor, colognes, perfumes, scented soaps and shampoos, sweat, vomit, small animals, and the myriad of individual personal scents belonging to each human in the building. It was a major sensory overload. The tests in the Project had shown that Inuyasha was capable of sniffing out a single apple hidden in a thousand kilos' worth of onions with only the slightest bit of difficulty. But this time it wasn't the difference between onions and apples he was trying to process. This time it was thousands upon thousands of smells that hit him in one huge wave. Good thing he had a strong stomach.

"Inuyasha," Kagome started with concern in her voice, "are you okay?"

Inuyasha swallowed once and kept his eyes to the ground. "I'm fine. But this place smells like wet ass." Among other things.

"That's the problem with compressed humanity," Kagome said as if admitting to an unpleasant truth. Which wasn't that inaccurate, really. "We'll make this quick."

Inuyasha allowed himself to be guided through the mall, trying to avoid looking at the swarms of humans around him. He had never been out in the open like this before. So many scents, so many bodies, so many faces. And the feeling of millions of eyes on him. It was enough to make his skin crawl.

Their first stop was a large store with obnoxiously bright fluorescent lighting. Kagome seemed to know where she was going at first, but when they reached the section with a big sign over it saying "MEN'S DEPARTMENT" she looked a little unsure. "Now let's see," she said as she went to a large rack of blue pants that Inuyasha had seen the soldiers wearing when off-duty. He thought he had heard them called "jeans" once. "Good, these are on clearance. Hold still, for a second." She took one pair off the rack and held them up to Inuyasha's legs.

He felt his face flush again, but decided to try real hard to make sure all the blood stayed up there instead of going to his crotch. Her hands her so close, but he tried not to think about it. It would be way too awkward if he suddenly got an erection here where neither one of them had any place to run.

Inuyasha was greatly relieved when she removed her hands. "Okay, these look about right. Let me just get a couple pairs and we'll move on..."

The next stop made Kagome blush this time. "UNDERGARMENTS" the sign said. One look at the shelves and Inuyasha immediately figured out what had her so nervous. She was approaching the section hesitantly, trying to avoid eye contact with Inuyasha. He couldn't help but feel a little amused by that. She must not have had much experience with men's clothes. Maybe her embarassment at being in this section meant she was a virgin. He couldn't help but wonder what her love life had been like. She was easily the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. But maybe being a psion had scared other men away from her?

Inuyasha shook his head to clear his mind of those thoughts. This was not getting him anywhere. He looked to see Kagome looking through a display of cotton shorts before holding up a pair like she had done before, but much more hesitantly. She quickly pulled her hand back and grabbed a couple packs of that kind. "Close enough," she muttered quickly.

"What next?" Inuyasha asked in a low voice.

Kagome also grabbed two packs of socks and headed back toward the counter they had passed on the way into the store. "We're going somewhere else to get you some shirts and a couple things for your head." She quickly paid for the items at the front desk while the wrinkly lady at the register kept giving Inuyasha funny looks. She must have thought he was suspicious. Unfortunately, they scientists at the Project had never intended to have him move around in public very much, so he tended to stand out a bit.

It was a relief to be out of there, even if it meant going back into the sea of humans and their nauseating body odors and artificial smells. When one group of giggling teenage girls passed them, the scents coming off of them were obviously fake. They were also very powerful. Kagome scrunched up her nose in distaste, but Inuyasha felt like he was about to vomit. This merely bolstered his opinion that humans were stupid. They were so unhappy with their own scents, that they drowned them in something even worse.

Kagome eventually lead Inuyasha to another store with a big neon sign over it that said "FEEDBACK." "I figure this is a good store for you," Kagome explained. "It has all kinds of retro stuff from the late 20th century. Believe it or not, people are still into that stuff and... oh no!"

Inuyasha followed Kagome gaze into the gaudy store to see three girls about Kagome's age who all looked up at the same time and smiled, looks of recognition on their faces. Inuyasha smelled a huge awkward moment coming up.

"Kagome!" they all cried out in unison and rushed toward them. Yup. _Huge_ awkward moment coming up.

"Hey, guys," Kagome said a little nervously.

The three girls immediately focused their attention on Inuyasha. "Who is this?" one asked curiously.

"Ooh, he's cute," remarked another.

"Is he your new boyfriend?" asked the third.

Inuyasha pulled the bill of the cap down further and Kagome turned beat red. "No!" she exclaimed, letting go of his hand with a soft squeak of surprise and embarassment. "This is Inuyasha. He's..."

"I'm from out of town," Inuyasha answered. He remembered overhearing the instructions given to the Moreaus allowed to go into the outside world. His situation was a little different but he could probably fake it. "I'm staying with Kagome for a while until I can get settled in." That was basically the story that Koga was supposed to give if ever cornered.

Kagome looked at him, a little surprised by his reply. "Uh, Inuyasha, these are my friends. This is Yuki, Eri, and Ayumi."

Inuyasha just nodded at their bubbly hellos. He really wanted to get out of here. Now. He did not like the way they were looking at him. At least when Kagome had been staring at him, she had the sense to blush. With these three he felt like their eyes were trying to undress him. Not a pleasant feeling.

"By the way, Kagome," Eri said, "what's with his clothes? Is he doing laundry today or something?"

Kagome just giggled nervously. "Y-yeah. Also, some of his luggage got lost, so I'm helping him shop for some new clothes."

Eri and Yuki just nodded, buying the story, though Ayumi looked a little skeptical. Thankfully, she didn't say anything though.

"Anyway, we can meet up later," Kagome said. "I still have a ton of things to do today." She hurried her way through the good-byes, practically shoving her three friends out of the store.

Inuyasha heaved a sigh of relief. He had refused to budge while those three were in his presence. It was not an experience he cared to repeat. "Are they always like that?" Please say no, please say no, please say no...

"Kinda," Kagome answered. Damn. "They're all a little flirty, but Eri... I think she considers men a legitimate hobby. Ayumi is the one with some sense. For a second I was worried she wouldn't by your story. That was some pretty quick thinking, by the way."

Inuyasha just looked off to the side and grunted. "Keh."

Kagome rolled her eyes at him and began to cruise the aisles with Inuyasha in tow. She picked out a half-dozen shirts with short sleeves, one that buttoned down the front, two with long sleeves, and a cap and a bandana. When they got up to the counter, she also grabbed a pair of glasses with dark lenses. She paid for everything quickly, this time not having to worry about the cashier. Judging by his red eyes, he was probably another psion like her.

"One last stop to make," Kagome said as they left the store. "We need to get you a pair of shoes."

That ended up being a long and tedious process. Inuyasha didn't like shoes. They felt restricting. Of course, he had never worn any footwear other than slippers his whole life, so that made some sense. It took almost an hour before he just decided to concede defeat on this one. Kagome was quite insistent on him getting shoes. It seemed that a lot of public places insisted on them. Seemed kind of stupid, but whatever.

As soon as he had settled on a pair that he could tolerate, Kagome once more began herding him to where ever she wanted to go next. "We'll duck into a department store and you can get changed," she explained as they went into one of those really big stores like the first one. She steered him toward an area labeled "DRESSING ROOMS" and foisted a pair of jeans, a pack of socks and those cotton shorts, a T-shirt, and his new shoes on him. "Here. Go into one of those rooms and change into those. I'll wait out here.

Inuyasha just grunted and complied. He decided to get this over with quickly. The shoes presented a small challenge in the laces. He had seen the way the guards laced up their boots, but he had never thought to try it himself. In the end, he just tied the laces in a small knot and stuffed the ends under the tongue. This way it was a little loose and much more comfortable.

"You almost done?" Kagome asked patiently from the other side of the door.

"Just need a hat." A moment later, the baseball cap she had bought him sailed over the edge of the door which he deftly caught. He pinned his ears down and stuffed the cap over his head. It was still a little uncomfortable, but it was better than being discovered in public.

Inuyasha pulled the latch and stepped out. He looked to Kagome to see if it met with her approval. She looked him up and down a couple of times, that appreciative glint coming into her eyes once more. Her friends, he could sort of see it. They didn't know what he was. But she had seen him without the hat. When she had explained her ability to read her auras, he thought for sure she knew by then that he wasn't natural. So why was she giving him those looks? She was so beautiful she could probably have any man she wanted for a mate. Why was she wasting her time looking at _him_ like that?

"Pretty sharp," Kagome commented with a grin. "Do you want to get something to eat before we leave?"

Before Inuyasha could answer, his stomach growled in answer. "Assume that was a 'yes,'" he grumbled. He had seen people act embarrassed when that happened. But he couldn't understand why. It was a perfectly normal reaction to being hungry. Of course, humans seemed unusually up-tight about their bodily functions in general anyway.

Taking his hand once more, Kagome took him to a large open space filled with tables that reminded Inuyasha of the guards' dining hall. Except the food here smelled a lot better. "Is pizza, okay?" Kagome asked off-handedly as she looked around at the various little alcoves with bright signs and people serving food.

"Is what-now, okay?" What was she talking about?

"Pizza," Kagome said, obviously not getting it.

"What's that?" Inuyasha asked, a hint of impatience entering his voice.

Kagome looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "I swear for every one of my questions about you that gets answered, another two pop up. But we'll worry about that later." She lead the two of them over to a table and set the bags of clothes down. "Just wait here. Try not to get in any trouble, okay? I'll be back in a minute."

Before Inuyasha could make a crack about getting into trouble, Kagome had already taken off. What was he going to do with her? Then again, what would he have done without her? Would he have ever gotten out of the stasis pod? And if he did, what were the odds that he would meet someone like Kagome who would try to help him without pitying him? Slim to none, really. He really hated to admit it, but he depended on her.

Still... given the choice, Inuyasha would probably choose her over any other option. He may have been dependent on her to survive in this future world, but at least she didn't treat him like an idiot or a lapdog or something. He owed her more than he could give with just the simple acts of kindness she had already shown him, and yet she acted as if he owed her nothing. He had heard of altruism, but he didn't think it existed anymore. Kagome just proved him wrong.

Inuyasha continued on with that train of thought for a moment before Kagome came back with a square cardboard box, out of which seeped a mouth-watering smell. She set it on the table and opened it up to reveal a large, circular thing that at once looked unappetizing and downright irresistible. Weird how that actually made sense in his head.

"Help yourself," Kagome beamed. "I'm not very hungry, so I'll just take a slice."

Inuyasha took one piece for himself. He paused a moment to inspect it before taking a bite. The instant his jaws closed, he knew that this pizza had the nutritional value of a bowl of grease. And for some reason that just made it all the more delicious. Within three minutes, he had wolfed down half the pizza. He glanced up at Kagome to see her giving him a strange look. He swallowed a mouthful and shrugged. "What?"

"Did you actually taste _any_ of that?" she asked, slightly in awe.

"Yeah. Do you think we could have some more of this for dinner?"

"Tomorrow night, maybe," Kagome said as she shook her head lightly with a soft smile. "I was going to order some Chinese tonight."

Inuyasha just nodded. "Where's the bathroom?"

Kagome pointed over toward a corner of the pavilion. "Men's room is over there. As soon as you're done we should get going."

"Right," Inuyasha answered. "I won't be long." With that he stood up and proceeded to the bathroom. The smell was quite overpowering. Apparently, a couple people didn't know how to flush, and a few didn't know what toilets were for. Worse, the chemicals used to clean this place were still giving off fumes that made his head spin. He decided to get this done with and get the hell out of there.

On his way out, Inuyasha felt a warning bell go off in his head when he saw some strange human sitting beside Kagome, the latter of whom looked exceptionally uncomfortable. A growl started in the back of his throat and he started to stalk up to the table, the conversation soon becoming audible.

"Oh come on, babe. I'm clean." If his scent was any indicator, that human was lying his ass off about that.

"No! Get the hell away from me." Kagome knew what this guy wanted. And she seemed thoroughly disgusted with him. Inuyasha couldn't help but feel a flicker of amusement at that. "What kind of girl do you think I am?"

"A very beautiful one. One who really should have a good man in her life." If he was lucky, Inuyasha would let him die. But at the moment, things didn't look nearly so bright.

"You have exactly five seconds to leave before I call the police," Kagome said with finality.

"No need," Inuyasha snarled as he came up to the table. He glared darkly at the pervert sitting next to her, rinkling his nose in disgust at his greased up hair. "She said 'no.'"

The man obviously wasn't as stupid as he looked, because the scent of fear was very noticeable on him. Inuyasha knew very well that he struck a very intimidating presence when he tried.

"Who the hell are you?" the man asked, uncertainty clearly laced in his voice.

"None of your damn business," Inuyasha snarled. "Leave."

The man's look of fear turned to one of disgust. "You're a psion. How'd you manage to bone a girl like her, hypnosis?"

Inuyasha saw from the corner of his eye that Kagome was on the verge of castrating the dumbass. Shame she wasn't as fast as him. Inuyasha snapped a hand out and grabbed the man by his collar. In a moment of panic, he whipped his hands about trying to escape from the Moreau. But Inuyasha simply pulled him forward into a hard kneestrike to the stomach before tossing him back onto the ground. He felt the eyes of people around them on him and that's when it registered. His hat was gone!

Inuyasha quickly pinned his ears to his head and looked around frantically for his hat before he felt Kagome jam it over his head. "Let's get out of here!" she whispered desperately. Grabbing his hand and the bags, they ran toward the exit. Inuyasha could hear the sounds of footfalls in pursuit behind them and scooped Kagome up into his arms and took off at full speed, easily outstripping the pathetic humans. He paused only long enough for the sliding doors to open for him and made for the car. "Open it! Now!"

Kagome looked at him in awe for a moment as he put her down before nodding and opening the car. They both ducked in and proceeded to take off out of the mall parking lot.

Once they were out of sight of the massive structure, Kagome heaved a sigh of relief. "I didn't know you could move like that," Kagome said.

Inuyasha just shrugged. "One of my powers." For the time being, he figured it was better to allude to the idea that he was just another psion rather than a Moreau. It wasn't a lie so much as it was just not being specific.

The ride continued in silence until they reached the apartment building. They were about to go inside when a purple car like Kagome's pulled into a vacant space and a dark-haired man jumped out. "Hey, wait!" he called out.

Inuyasha turned to face him, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. There was something about this guy that he didn't like but it was hard to place. Kagome seemed a little edgy around him too. "Have we met?" she asked hesitantly.

"No, no we haven't. My name is Miroku Yamashita."

"You mean the reporter?" Kagome asked incredulously. "You're _that_ Miroku Yamashita?"

"Last time I checked," Miroku said with a small grin. His expression then turned serious. "I saw you two at the mall. I saw your... companion without his hat."

Inuyasha tensed up. He was ready to spring on Miroku if he tried anything. But the question the man asked caught him completely off-guard.

"You wouldn't by any chance know anything about a... Project: Moreau... would you?"

**-x-**

Kagome bit her lip nervously as she brought the coffee out into the living room. Miroku was sitting in the recliner and Inuyasha sat on the couch, watching the other man like a hawk. She sat down next to Inuyasha and sent him a reassuring look. She was beginning to get the idea that something big was about to happen. Miroku Yamashita was one of the world's most famous investigative reporters. He had a penchant for uncovering human rights violations and corporate scandals. That had probably made him a lot of enemies and a lot of friends in his days. It was surprising that he was so young, though. He must have been in his late twenties at the very oldest.

"Thank you," he said graciously as he accepted the mug of coffee. He sipped slowly on it. "Would one of you like to start, or should I?"

"First, I just want to know what this Moreau thing is," Kagome said bluntly.

"Very well," Miroku sighed. "Where to start... I was doing an investigation on discrimination against psions in rural areas when I came upon the Kabori family. They looked like psions at first, but I got the feeling there was more to them than met the eye after a while. That was when I saw their son, Shippo. He had triple-jointed legs ending in small paws and a fluffy tail."

Kagome blinked once. Was he telling the truth? "W-what happened?"

Miroku took a sip of coffee before proceeding. "Since I had seen their son so clearly, they knew that I wouldn't leave until I got answers. It was hard convincing them to trust me, though. In the end they told me that they and all the others on their ranch were refugees from a thing called Project: Moreau. Over the next few days, I worked with them to dig up information to fill in the gaps in their story. This is what I've figured out so far:

"Project: Moreau began in the spring of 1944. As it turns out, the Nazis really were experimenting with a supersoldier program. They were trying to take what they believed to be the superior genes of the Aryan race and elevate them to a level of perfection that surpassed the point nature had stopped at. Bullshit, really. All the genetic superiority crap was discredited in the mid-twentieth century.

"Anyway, the Project was meant as a foil to the Nazis attempts at making a supersoldier. It was spearheaded by a young Japanese surgeon who had defected to the United States named Naraku Tanaka. His work was based on finding the common elements in the DNA strands between humans and other animals so that they could be bonded. The resulting lifeform would be stronger as a result of the synergy and removal of genetic flaws. It was pretty groundbreaking work for the times, but it was so out there it never got any kind of recognition. But the government was desperate. So they allowed him to form Project: Moreau."

Miroku paused once again and Kagome took a sip of her coffee to try and ease her tension. Inuyasha sat still as a statue beside her. "What happened in the project?" she asked after a moment.

Miroku looked up at him and her. Despite the fact that this was a serious situation, he seemed to be giving her some very appreciative looks. His aura clearly showed a kind of lust, though it was nothing like that jerk at the food court. Still made her feel uncomfortable though. She cleared her throat to try and get Miroku to focus.

"Anyway," he said went on, as if nothing had happened, "the Project persisted even after World War II ended. Doctor Tanaka was quite persistent. And then, in 1949, they had their first success. It was a human/ape hybrid, the first of the Moreaus. In 1950, they created two more. It was one string of successes after another from there on, always experimenting with new species. In the 60's, they began working with canine DNA such as dogs and wolves. I'm guessing that's where Inuyasha here came from?"

Kagome looked over at Inuyasha who just closed his eyes and looked down. "1964, experiment 027, Group C," he said mechanically.

64-027-C. The tattoo. So that was what that meant. He was branded like a piece of property. Kagome couldn't help but feel her heart go out to him. She placed a hand on his shoulder and immediately felt him begin to relax a little.

Inuyasha heaved a sigh before continuing. "I wasn't the first. Group C was the third batch of Moreaus out of five that were part of the twenty-seventh experiment of that year. The other twenty-six had failed. I guess making dog, wolf, and bear Moreaus was harder than making ape ones."

Miroku nodded once before speaking. "From what I understand, they were created to be scouts, trackers, and shock troops. They were the first Moreaus to be given DNA from early psions. This is when the Project really went into full swing. And where the details get kind of foggy.

"Apparently, the US government decided to terminate the Project in 1984 when they discovered that Doctor Tanaka had been getting extra funding and going behind the inspectors' backs for over a decade by selling the services of the Moreaus as mercenaries to any party who could pay his exorbitant fees. The assassinations of several political figures in Eastern Europe and the Middle East were eventually linked to Project: Moreau, as well as a handful of massacres, unsolved murders, and so on and so forth." Miroku pursed his lips a moment.

"The only problem was that when the CIA was sent in to shut the Project down and exterminate the Moreaus, they found its headquarters abandoned... Doctor Tanaka has not been seen or heard from since. But there are still occasional sightings in particularly volatile regions of the world that have lead the government to suspect the presence of Moreaus in their old mercenary role. The most recent of which being in North Africa."

Kagome took a deep breath and looked to Inuyasha as all of this information sank in. So that was it. He must have faced pretty cruel treatment while in the Project if it made him so closed off and distant. It certainly explained why he seemed so naive to the outside world. She could only begin to imagine the kind of things he had seen, though. Even with Miroku's scant details, she already had a few ideas of just what went on behind the closed doors at headquarters. It probably had something to do with his distrust of doctors as well.

A part of her felt like it was being wrenched out. The very thought of the things that this Doctor Tanaka had done made her stomach turn. She didn't know why exactly, but she was certain he was probably one of the most vile people to walk the earth. Fortunately, it was doubtful that he was still alive. He'd easily be over a hundred years old by now.

But if the Project was still around... what did that mean for Inuyasha? Would they try to take him back if they found him? Would they put him back into that stasis pod? It didn't really matter, because Kagome decided then and there that she wouldn't let them do anything to him. He deserved to be free.

"I was hoping that your friend..." Miroku started again. "Inuyasha, was it? That Inuyasha could shed a little more light on what happened to the Project. And perhaps explain to me why you look so young for someone who should be in his late sixties or early seventies."

Inuyasha just blinked once slowly, seeming to think about it. "They put me in suspended animation in 1983," he said, his voice coming out a hoarse whisper as if he'd just finished crying. "I just woke up last week."

"I see," Miroku said. He took another sip of his coffee and watched the Moreau closely for a moment. "And what can you tell me about the Project while you were... conscious?"

There was another long pause before Inuyasha finally looked away from the floor and out the window. "I don't wanna talk about it right now," he said flatly.

Kagome felt that wrenching sensation again. It was her heart. Inuyasha must have felt like he was finally free from the Project and now he found out that there was a strong possibility that it was still around. He looked like a small boy who had his first dream crushed and ruined. Tears burned her eyes at the thought of what he must have gone through and was going through now. No one deserved this.

Miroku seemed to pick up on the tension in the air and he stood up, leaving his unfinished mug on the coffee table. "I'll leave you my contact information," he said softly. "I'm determined to find out everything about Project: Moreau and put a stop to it. I'll leave you the contact information for the Kabori ranch as well. They can fill you in on the rest of the details about what happened to the Project around the turn of the millennium and how they escaped. I'll drop by if I find out anything else."

A small business card floated down onto the coffee table as Miroku turned on his heel and quietly left. Once they were alone, Kagome turned back to Inuyasha. She moved closer to him and he turned his back to her, tensing up. She could understand why he was being so distant right now, but the urge to comfort him was stronger than the urge to just leave him be and sort things out. Kagome slipped her arms down over his shoulders and leaned against him lightly.

Everything was still for a moment before one of his clawed hands tentatively took hold of one of hers. His tension melted slightly, but there was still enough to show that he knew this problem wouldn't just go away. Sooner or later, he was going to have to confront Project: Moreau for his freedom. But Kagome silently promised him that she wouldn't let him fight this battle alone. She just couldn't.

**-x-**

**Author's Notes:** I really shouldn't be up this late. But I am anyway. I'm going to have to take a break from writing for a few days to catch up on the rest of my assignments. God, I'm so irresponsible.

Anyway, onto the reviewers...

**Mimiko:** I'm hoping to get better characterization for Miroku in the next chapter. Don't take this one as the standard. And speaking of zodiacs, I found it kind of weird that my Chinese zodiac is eerily accurate, far more than Scorpio.

**Father Malvado:** Lars Ulrich is the wanker-I-mean-drummer for Metallica, and Verne Troyer was Mini-Me. Anyway, college-age women you say? Think you could put in a good word, eh, eh?

**Xthe stranger withinX:** I must admit I've never had one of my stories described as WAH.

**SilverMyste:** Good to know I'm progressing as a writer. If this story didn't measure up to the beginnings of LTMBYM or LCA! in its first few chapters, then I would know that I was doing something wrong.

**Izayoi:** Another double-review. The site does not want to behave, does it?

**Magellan-chan:** Moreau is French. It's pronounced "mor-ROW." And late last night, I came up with a really hokey mnemonic: the story about Project:Moreau is "more-au." That's bad, real bad, I know. Anyway, Sango and Miroku will be strong supporting characters in this of course. It took some time for me to figure out what I wanted them to be and do in this story, but I think you'll be relatively pleased. As for Shippo, I decided to keep him a kid this time, try something different. That's all you're going to get.

**Mukyuu Tenshi:** Read "The Island of Doctor Moreau" and you'll see the significance of the name.

**bluefuzzyelf:** You guessed right. The full details will be disclosed over the next few chapters with a few surprises here and there down the road.

**InuGoddess:** I figured a darker, more realistic tone was needed for this story and sexual tension really lends itself to that sort of feel.

**Vamps:** (sobs) Yes, I know it's short, but I ask that you please bear with me. I don't like writing excessively long chapters, and I have to balance my writing with schoolwork. I thank you all for your interest and ethusiasm, but please give me some time and breathing room.

**Cynical Chaos:** I never saw the movie, but the book was probably better anyway.

**Decrescendo:** Believe it or not, I haven't read Transcending a Dynasty yet and I had the first chapter of this story written and posted before I read The Price of Freedom. And if anyone accuses me of plagiarism for the use of the word "psion," I'm going to kindly direct them to the official website for Wizards of the Coast so they can see exactly where I picked up the word. Anyway, you're right: Aragorn is cooler. I may be biased though because I look a little like him. I don't really have the whole "Man of Gondor" look, but everyone else seems to think so.


	5. Nightmares

**Author's Notes: **The notes that were supposed to go here are gone. In their place, I'm going to express how much the time between the last update and this one sucked.

The Astronomy class is really sucking. I dropped it and am just going to slog through the semester with 12 credits instead of 16. At least then I'll be able to devote maximum time to the overwhelming writing and reading projects of my other three classes. Also, I swear the astro professor is a robot.

I also found out this week that the reason nothing is agreeing with me is because I have an ulcer. It's fucked up my sleep schedule and made it difficult to eat much of anything. Which really pisses me off and just sours my mood even further.

To top it all off, this huge project I had planned for Halloween isn't going to happen at all because of legal and monetary issues. That was one huge kick in the throat since I had been planning and looking forward to this since January.

On the up-shot, I picked up my copy of The Sims 2. It is quite awesome. I'm currently working in Pleasantview with my novelist sim, Adrian Fruitbat. The other night, I just moved in his elder brother Clifford along with his wife Carmen and their three children. The tradition of the Fruitbat family started with the very first Sims my aunt created. She got the original game before me and ever since the untimely demise of Eric Fruitbat, the family has continued to grow and expand. I'm hoping that during the holidays I can make some stories featuring a few Fruitbats and post them on the web.

Also, I saw Sky Captain on the opening weekend. I went in thinking "This better kick ass, or somebody owes me." I was not disappointed. It's been a lackluster year for Hollywood, and this movie helped prevent it from being total crap aside from Hellboy. I mean, come on. We all know that White Chicks and Catwoman easily negated the effects of several decent movies released earlier in the year. Oh yeah, watch for the Godzilla cameo in the "spinning headlines" montage.

Finally, Maiden of the Moon took the time to draw up this adorable sketch of a scene out of Lights, Camera, Action!. Here's the url: http: (instert back slashes here; fucking document manager) www. artwanted. com/ imageview. cfm? id122932 (remember to remove the spaces; piece of crap document manager). Be sure to leave your comments and rating at the site. As a fellow artist (even though I don't like calling myself that), I'm sure she would appreciate it.

Anyway, back on track...

Dawn of a New Age

Chapter 5- Nightmares

Perkins tentatively knocked on the oaken door, swallowing back the acid rising up in his throat. He hated having to come here and deliver reports. But the coin had come up tails, so he didn't have much of a choice.

"Come in," said the cold voice behind the door. The sound itself was almost enough to stop one's heart. It was so devoid of good feeling. It was as if it wasn't even coming from a human throat, but some autonomous creature completely bereft of emotions such as pity, sympathy, and remorse. Perkins could only find one word to accurately sum it up: evil.

Nevertheless, he had to get this overwith. He opened the door slowly. The room inside was dark. Actually, that didn't even begin to describe it. The entire office was pitch black. The only light came from the computer monitor on the desk which cast a ghostly glow over its area, and created a small pool of refuge from the shadows which swam about the room. For some reason, Doctor Tanaka had an aversion to bright lights. Speaking of whom, he was seated at his desk, the light from the monitor making his pale face look almost inhuman, as if there were no life behind it at all. Perkins had to wonder just how close to the truth was. Doctor Tanaka looked astoundingly youthful for a man who was supposedly over a century old. In fact, he looked as if he hadn't felt Father Time's hands since his early thirties. And that only made him all them more sinister and unnerving. "Yes?" Doctor Tanaka said icily.

Perkins swallowed audibly and stepped into the room, silently and hesitantly placing a single notepad on the desk. The glow from the notepad's screen was only enough to create a faint oasis for itself which the shadows of the room threatened to engulf. "W-we have some a-alarming news, s-sir. Regarding subject 64-027-C."

Doctor Tanaka half-lidded his eyes a moment before smirking in what appeared to be cruel amusement. "Ah, yes. Inuyasha." Then, the smirk was gone as soon as it had come. "What about him?"

Perkins glanced down briefly at the notepad. It seemed that Naraku had no interest in reading it himself. "W-well, sir. The other day we were doing a routine check on the stasis pods in the United States. Subject 64-027-C's had malfunctioned and aborted. We dispatched a small team to investigate, b-but when they arrived..."

"When they arrived?" Doctor Tanaka narrowed his eyes menacingly.

"W-when they arrived..." Perkins swallowed once more. This was such a bad time for his heartburn to be acting up. Of course, the very presence of Doctor Tanaka usually set off illnesses in people. "The subject was gone. And the restrainer was found on the floor, deactivated."

Naraku's eyes narrowed to slits and the corners of his mouth tilted down ever so slightly. "Find him." His voice was barely above a whisper, but the tone was so chilling and threatening, it could have put even the deadliest cobra to shame. "Now."

**-x-**

Inuyasha sat upright with a yelp. His eyes adjusted quickly and he realized he was in the guest room in Kagome's apartment, not the cold steel table surrounded by the doctors and their blades. It had only been a dream. No... a memory. But that was only cold comfort.

Inuyasha kicked the sheets off and went into the living room. He had just found out that Project: Moreau still existed. If they ever learned where he was, they would either capture him or kill him. It would be best if he left Kagome now and went on the run. But where would he go? To that ranch where other fugitive Moreaus had fled? That nosy reporter or Kagome would probably find him there anyway. And he certainly couldn't make it on his own out there. He had no means of providing for himself except thievery and that was bound to get him noticed eventually.

It seemed that for the time being, he was stuck. If he moved, the Project might find him again. If he stayed, Kagome was put at risk. And after all she'd done for him, she didn't deserve that. Inuyasha was beginning to wonder if _he_ deserved _her_. What had he ever done to deserve someone like her in his life? She who rescued him from that stasis pod, who took him into her home and fed him and clothed him, who put herself at risk by allowing him to stay.

Of course, thoughts of Kagome always lead Inuyasha to the same conclusions. None of which made him particularly cheerful. She was probably the only decent human being left on this planet and he was an unnatural mistake. If that didn't take the wind out of your sails, nothing would.

Inuyasha flopped down on the couch and turned on the TV. He had learned a few days ago that there was nothing good on at this time, but the ambient noises and distractions helped him take his mind off of the memories.

**-x-**

Kagome tossed in a light sleep. All but a few of her questions were answered, but they didn't provide much relief. It just lead to worry and anxiety. Inuyasha. The poor guy had a shot at freedom, and now it may not even exist. Now that she knew, she couldn't blame him for being so secretive. Were she in his position, she would have wanted to forget as well.

She was pulled out of her hazy half-sleep by the faint sounds of the TV in the living room. What was Inuyasha doing up at this hour? She lazily climbed up out of bed and looked into the living room. Inuyasha sat in the couch with his back to her as he channel-surfed. The flick of his ears indicated that he had heard her.

"Couldn't sleep?" she asked softly as she walked into the living room. She took a seat next to Inuyasha as he grunted softly in reply. He looked a little more distressed than he was before. His face was a little pale and his eyes had a far-away, haunted look. His aura showed very clear anxiety. The kind that only came from one thing.

"You had a nightmare, didn't you?"

Inuyasha just flicked his ears once and very obviously tried not to make eye contact. That alone spoke more than a single "yes" could have.

Kagome drew her knees up and hugged them to her body. "You know, it sometimes helps to say it out loud and get it off your chest." That was what she said, but her mind had one other sentence that she just wouldn't say: 'Please talk to me.' She wasn't quite sure why, but in this short time, she had really grown fond of Inuyasha. It was difficult to explain, but there was something about him that gave her comfort. The way he stood up for her at the mall. His aura showed a very protective glow, but it wasn't anything harsh or domineering. He actually looked like... a knight in shining armor.

Inuyasha hung his head in his hands, clearly contemplating just what to do. There was a tense silence as the TV droned on in the background and the two of them simply sat there unmoving. At last, Inuyasha stood up and walked to the window. Kagome couldn't help but feel a slight pang in her chest to see that he still wouldn't open up with her. She had hoped by now that he would trust her. He didn't have the advantage of being able to read auras, so Kagome had hoped that she could get him to learn to see that she only wanted to help him. She was abruptly taken out of her thoughts by Inuyasha's voice.

"Are you sure you want to know?" he asked with his voice little more than a hoarse whisper.

Kagome looked up to see him staring vacantly out the window. "Inuyasha, you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to, but I'll always be here to listen."

Inuyasha paused once more before sighing. "I'm a mistake, you know. The Project only needed one of the embryos in Group C to survive to meet Tanaka's requirements. I survived by fluke. They would have just killed me, but Tanaka decided to keep me around as a glorified lab rat... So I became the one they tested everything on."

The tone in his voice in that last sentence made Kagome shiver. Just the way he said it with so much loathing, fear, and sadness made her stomach tighten in knots.

Inuyasha continued on. "When I was fourteen, they wanted to test a canine Moreau's tolerance for pain. To see how much punishment we could take..." His voice began to crack, but he kept the blank expression on his face like a mask. "They tortured me for four straight days. They cut me, beat me, burned me. They peeled off strips of my skin, injected acid into me, and pulled out my teeth... but I never once gave those bastards the satisfaction of hearing me scream. On the fourth day I finally blacked out. I must have been out for a couple days. When I woke up, I was in solitary confinement and completely healed except a few scars."

Kagome felt sick. Tears stung her eyes. How could anyone be so cruel? How could they do that to him? The very thought of what Inuyasha must have gone through those four days made her chest hurt.

"The other Moreaus weren't much help either. They told me I recieved DNA from the same dog as an older Moreau named Sesshoumaru. He was sort of my brother. But he hated me. Koga and I were the only ones from Group C who survived. And I never knew just where I stood with him. The rest of the Moreaus just seemed to forget I was there."

Inuyasha's face abruptly turned into a scowl. "And then there was Kikyo. She said she was going to help me, and instead she stuck me in that fucking pod. She double-crossed me."

Kagome couldn't hold it in any longer. The first sob escaped and the tears slid down her cheeks. Everything Inuyasha had gone through... Nobody deserved that. She felt Inuyasha's presence hovering over her, unsure what to do.

"Hey, what are you doing?" he asked almost panicked. "Stop crying. Stop crying, uh... please?"

Kagome turned to him and enveloped him into a tight hug, sobbing into his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I just- I just can't believe that anyone could do that to you."

"You're... You're crying for me?" He talked as if it was the most outlandish thing he'd ever heard.

"Of course I am!" Kagome snapped suddenly. "I care what happens to you! You don't have to treat that like it's so terri-"

She was abruptly cut off when Inuyasha's strong arms wrapped around her, pressing her firmly but gently up against him. She gasped as he buried his face in her hair with his chin resting at the point where her neck and shoulder met. She felt her face going bright red at the contact, but she didn't dare move.

Inuyasha didn't say a word. Kagome absently wondered if he even know how to articulate just what was going on in his head. His knowledge of English seemed limited to some conversational words and phrases, some technical and medical terms, and a lot of profanity. But he seemed to be able to communicate better through actions and body language just what was going on in his head, much like a real dog. That was what made Kagome realize that he was thanking her. No one had ever cared about him before. She was the first, and this was his way of thanking her for it. The pain left her chest and was replaced with a warmth. She tightened her arms around Inuyasha and began to think that maybe things would turn out alright in the end after all.

**-x-**

A few days later, Kagome decided to use one of her days off to visit the Kabori ranch outside of town. She had contacted the family and explained their situation. Now, she and Inuyasha were on route to meet these Moreau refugees. The countryside was much more peaceful and charming than the hustle and bustle of the city. With the mountains in the background, you got the feeling that society itself could fall apart, and this wilderness would always be there, neither malevolent or benevolent, but simply there.

Inuyasha had been staring out the window ever since they left the city. He watched the countryside not with the same sort of fascination that he had the city, but more a sense of wonderment and belonging. He probably felt more at home here than he did anywhere else.

"What do you think we'll find when we get there?" Kagome asked conversationally. She cursed herself for how pathetic that was. It had sounded good in her head.

Inuyasha didn't seem to notice, though. "Some answers, I hope."

Silence reigned once again. Kagome felt too awkward to speak after that and Inuyasha just kept staring out the window. It wasn't exactly an uncomfortable silence, but the anticipation of their destination was creating a tension in the air that gave Kagome a nervous shiver. She needed something other than the road to help her keep her mind clear. The radio was out of the question since the instant she turned it on, Inuyasha would insist on listening to a heavy metal station which she was not in the mood for. He seemed to consider rock music to be one of society's greatest achievements.

While glancing around to the sides trying to prevent highway hypnosis, Kagome spotted something moving at the side of the road. It looked like a wounded animal. But there was something about the aura that seemed different. "Inuyasha, what's that?"

Inuyasha snapped out of his silent staring and looked in the direction Kagome did. "Looks like roadkill."

"But it's moving," Kagome argued and pulled the car over. "We have to help the poor thing."

Inuyasha heaved a sigh. "Kagome, if it's wounded it's going to bite you. I lived with the parents of the other Moreaus for most of my life, I think I'd know."

"Oh, stop fussing," Kagome retorted as she climbed out of the car. "You know I can just heal it. It'll be on it's way in no time."

Inuyasha grumbled and climbed out of the car as well. But as soon as he turned to face the animal, he paused. He sniffed twice and narrowed his eyes. "Kagome, that's no animal."

Kagome did a double-take at Inuyasha. "What?" She rushed over to the wounded creature that was still crawling forward. It looked up at her and she gasped. It was a little boy with a vulpine face, pointed ears, a fluffy tail, and triple-jointed legs ending in tiny paws. Miroku's words immediately leapt into her mind. Was this Shippo?

"W-who are you?" the little boy asked unsteadily, nursing a bloody wound in his side while backing up.

"It's okay," Kagome answered as she knelt down. "My name's Kagome. I'm here to help."

She heard Inuyasha stride up beside her. "He's a fox Moreau."

The little boy looked up at Inuyasha and his eyes widened. "You're a Moreau, too! Are you with them?" He began back up, one little fist becoming enveloped in a strange blue light that danced like fire.

"What do you mean 'them?'" Inuyasha snapped. "I'm with her," he said, pointing at Kagome.

Kagome rolled her eyes and extended a hand to the Moreau child. "It's okay. My name is Kagome. This is Inuyasha. Just take my hand."

The boy stared at her hand suspiciously a moment before reaching out and taking it with one of his own tiny clawed hands. A soft pink light started at Kagome's fingertips and flowed into the Moreau boy. He gasped, but didn't struggle. As the pink light washed over him once in a quick wave, he found his wounds to be healed except for a few minor scratches and scars.

The boy stared at Kagome in wonder for a moment before he clearly figured that he could trust her. "You have to help me!" he pleaded. "Two Moreaus came to the ranch and started attacking everyone!" At this point, tears filled his eyes. "My Mom and Dad told me to run. I think they're hurt!"

Kagome gasped at this news. She looked to Inuyasha who was staring intently into the distance. He sniffed the air carefully. "I smell smoke... something else... damn it, what was the word?" He snarled in frustration and looked down at Kagome. "Get the kid and get in the car!"

Kagome wasn't about to question Inuyasha so she simply scooped up the little fox Moreau in her arms and headed for the car with Inuyasha at her side. This was bad. Very bad. A sinking feeling welled up in her stomach, and she began to feel sick with dread. But they couldn't just abandon the boy's family. They had to go to the ranch and try to help. Somehow.

**-x-**

**Author's Notes:** Sort of a cliffhanger. And Shippo is introduced. I'll give you all three guesses as to just what Kagome and Inuyasha find when they get to the ranch.

Anyway, on to my reviewers...

**Dea Mariella:** I appreciate the vote of confidence, but if it's as great as everyone says it is, then I've got a long way to go before I can hope to compete in such a list.  
**Em Starcatcher:** I haven't seen the movie yet, but I'll be the book is better.**  
Magellan-chan:** I suppose you could always try to tell them that it's part of your church denomination and see if they believe you. But then, I just like messing with people's heads.**  
bluefuzzyelf:** When you see Sango's entrance, I think you'll be happy. I've never been pleased with my portrayal of her so far, but I think this time I've hit on something very faithful to her canon personality. At least, it makes sense in my head.**  
Spitfire-Hanyou14:** I kind of lost interest in Yu-Yu Hakusho a while ago, but since you've reviewed my own works, I promise to read it in the near future.**  
Father Malvado:** Are you sure that's Jolt Gum? Because it sounds a little more like a morphine cocktail. Anyway, I can't have any caffeine because of my stomach ulcer.  
**Izayoi:** Well, if you think about it, it's not too farfetched. A reporter and a priest essentially do the same thing: try to bring truth to the people. And the truth is always influenced by your perception of reality, so religion and advocate journalists have a lot in common in that regard.**  
Araine:** Laziness I can sympathize with. Good that you're helping the environment, though.**  
Decrescendo:** Well if worst comes to worst, I'll just fall back on my radical liberal heritage. I'll send out an e-mail campaign and transfer my stories to a less totalitarianist host. Anyway the historical connection idea came to me shortly after I started the story. The original idea sucked and was more reminiscent of Aldous Huxley than my own influences as a writer. It just didn't work, so I scrapped it.**  
Mimiko:** Yeah, I figured that Inuyasha is a 19-year-old male virgin who has had every bit of his independence and drive violently crushed by Project: Moreau. The Four F's are going to be warring with his sentience and willpower for control of his mind. I still think my Chinese horoscope is eerily accurate. I was born in the year of the Rat and the element of Wood. I can't remember the rest, but I'll have to dig it up sometime. I have to find out the zodiac sign of my month and time of birth.**  
Vixen12089:** I promise I'll work it in soon. For now, I have a hard enough time just writing. Even after dropping the Astronomy class, I have a lot of writing and reading assignments to deal with. Just finishing this meant I had to pocrastinate finishing my Scriptwriting assignment. 


	6. Massacre

**Author's Notes:** Well, here I am again. I've hit a block in Lights, Camera, Action!, so I'm working on this. I just can't make the transition in these scenes go smoothly. When I've got a block, I can't force it. I just got to keep writing and wait for it to break down. Oh well.

In other, sadder news, Sakura had to be put to sleep. After all of her health problems left her weak, she suffered what the vet believed to be a stroke. She was a step up from a vegetable, and keeping her alive would be futile and inhumane. So we let her go quietly while she wasn't in any great pain.

Hopefully, I'll have some happier news to report by the time I finish writing this chapter.

Dawn of a New Age

Chapter 6- Massacre

Kagome drove quietly toward the ranch, expecting the worst. It was like a brick had formed in the pit of her stomach and tried to force the acid up into her throat as it weighed down inside of her. She needed to think of something, anything but that feeling. "Shippo, the two who attacked the ranch. What did they look like?"

Shippo swallowed audibly before answering from the back seat. "Well... one of them was tall and mean-looking. He had really long hair tied up like a rope. He carried this big metal stick and his shoes had these weird circle thingies that floated next to him. The other one was really ugly. He looked like a big frog or lizard."

Inuyasha looked back at Shippo from the passenger seat. "Since when did the Project start making Moreaus without mammals?"

Shippo just shrugged. From the look on his face it was clear he didn't know or care. All that mattered was that his family was in danger, probably hurt, and he had to trust two strangers to help him. No kid should have to go through that. It just wasn't right. He wasn't old enough to be able to emotionally cope with a situation like this, not by a long shot. Best to try and keep a conversation going. The tension in the car was getting brittle along with Inuyasha's temper and Shippo's composure. At any minute, something could happen to shatter any of those things like one big pane of glass. "What do you mean Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha huffed and turned back to the front. "I mean that before I was 'put to sleep' the only Moreaus ever created were a mix of humans and mammals. A few like me had psion genes, too, but they never used reptiles or anything like that."

"It has been fifty years," Kagome remarked. "Maybe they figured out how to do it."

"Looks like it," Inuyasha grumbled. He then leaned forward and narrowed his eyes. He lowered the window and stuck his head out, sniffing the air. Despite the unbearable anxiety welling up in her due to the situation, Kagome couldn't help but be reminded of how dog-like Inuyasha could be and how he seemed so much like the classic image of a dog hanging its head out of a car window to catch the breeze.

"We're close... Shit, this isn't good."

Now why'd you have to go and say that, genius?! Kagome only had to glance the rearview mirror to confirm her suspicions. Even without looking at his aura, it was clear Shippo was about to lose it. Of course, when she turned the corner, she felt like she was about to as well. Inuyasha's foul language and coarse tone of voice couldn't have possibly begun to describe the scene before them. They had finally reached the ranch. Or rather, what was left of it.

The whole scene looked like a warzone. The house was in ruins, a smoldering husk with several smoky flames still burning. Corpses were everywhere. They appeared human at first, but on closer inspection, it became obvious that these were all Moreaus. Some had dog-like features, others were more feline in appearance. Several had the looks of apes or bears. A couple resembled foxes. The closest one even resembled a bat. The physical anomalies were as numerous as the bodies. Animal-like ears, pelts, tails, snouts, turned-up noses, claws, triple-jointed legs. The bat Moreau even seemed to have vestigial wings connecting his arms and torso. There were about three dozen different bodies immediately visible, but there was one thing certain about all of them: their auras had faded away. They were all dead.

Several patches of the land were scorched and burned. Some still smoked and smoldered. A barn for the livestock had been knocked down and only a few remaining cows, goats, and chickens walked among the ruins while the rest lay slaughtered among the grounds. One of the cows had even been mutilated as if predators or scavengers had been picking at it for hours.

All in all, it was a scene of horror and brutality. It shook Kagome to her very core. She had gotten used to the sight of blood. But this was a massacre. This was butchery. So many lives taken in cold blood. For a while, Kagome found it strange that two Moreaus would do this to their own kind. And that's when it hit her: humans did the same to one another every day. The Moreaus who did this were no different than human killers. Rather than bring comfort, the realization only made Kagome all the more disgusted. Moreaus were every bit as human as humans and psions. And that was both a good thing and a bad thing.

Before the car even stopped, Inuyasha opened his door and bounded out. He went first to the corpse of the bat Moreau, checking him over.

Kagome stopped and climbed out, looking back at Shippo who merely sat numb with horror at the scene before him. Kagome bit her lip and opened the door. She gently placed a hand on the Moreau child's shoulder. "Shippo?"

In that moment, the tears flowed freely. Shippo curled up into a fetal position and sobbed and wailed uncontrollably. Reality had sunk in at last, and he was beginning to feel the pain of having his family, his friends, his whole life destroyed.

Kagome felt her chest tighten and tears stung her eyes. At the moment, there was nothing she could do. Best to give Shippo a moment alone and go help Inuyasha with whatever he was attempting to do. She walked toward the canine Moreau who was stepping away from the bat Moreau with a sigh. She caught an odd smell in the air. "Is that ozone?" she asked.

"Ozone!" Inuyasha barked in the tone of someone remembering something that should have been obvious. "That's what I smelled before. Anyway, the wounds on this poor bastard prove it. The two Moreaus who attacked this place were using electricity. That's a new one."

Kagome swallowed down the lump rising in her throat. "How long do you think they've been...?"

"Dead?" Inuyasha finished. "'Bout an hour. Maybe two. I'm gonna look around some more. Whoever these s'um'bitches were, they're long gone. But I want to find them. So I can kill them. The last thing we need is Moreaus loyal to the Project after us."

"How do you figure they'll come after us?" Kagome asked curiously.

"Just a hunch," Inuyasha grunted before striding off toward the remains of the ranch house.

**-x-**

Inuyasha tried to keep his wits. The stench of blood, smoke, and ozone was setting off so many warning bells it was hard to think straight. And through it all was the scent trail, still fresh. Two Moreaus who smelled of ozone and scales. Apparently, the Project really had managed to perfect mixing human and reptile genes. The first attempts they made back in '80... well, the few that got past being embryos didn't last too long.

Inuyasha tossed aside a charred beam of wood and started scavenging through the wreckage of the house. A couple of fires were still burning here and there. But for the most part, it seemed everything had been destroyed. Pretty quick work for only a couple hours. The two Moreaus had probably put most of the fires out themselves before leaving. The last thing they would want was to attract attention to this whole scene. But then, why would they leave the bodies lying around? Unless... unless they planned to come back later!

Inuyasha kept his mouth shut. He didn't want Kagome and the kid to panic. He needed to buy some time until he could think of a way to ambush the two Moreaus when they returned.

Suddenly, he spotted something. It was a hand sticking out from around a corner. Another victim it seemed. Out of morbid curiosity, Inuyasha turned around the corner to see what sort of Moreau had been slain, but he was unprepared to see the battered and charred corpses of two fox Moreaus, one a male and the other female. What stood out was not their burn and slash wounds, but rather the fact that where they should have had tails, there were only bloody stumps. Judging from the amount of blood around those stumps, the tails had been cut off after the two were killed. Why? Did the Project want some kind of proof that the ranch was destroyed and the refugees were dead? Sounds like something Tanaka would do. But he was dead. Wasn't he? Though Inuyasha didn't want to think about it too much, he certainly wouldn't doubt that Naraku was too twisted even for Hell.

Inuyasha stared at the bodies a few moments longer before growling under his breath. Kagome was turning him soft. He'd have to give these poor bastards a burial or something later. Better than rotting in the sun in this ruined husk of a home. He backed up a few steps before turning away. It would be best to head back to the car and get ready for the two Moreau's to return. It was pointless looking for survivors and the ash was starting to get in his eyes and nose.

Just thinking of it made Inuyasha sneeze and he realized just how bad it had been when the smells all came back at once stronger than ever. Except... the scent trail of the two killers seemed too strong. A light breeze stirred behind Inuyasha, whipping a couple locks of hair around his shoulder to dance in front of him. The scent was particularly strong now. Oh shit!

Inuyasha sprang off back to the car. Kagome was turning bodies onto their backs and crossing their arms when she spotted the silver-haired Moreau racing toward her.

"Inuya-..." She was cut off by Inuyasha snatching her by the waist as he ran by and carrying her like a rag doll.

"Shut up," he barked. Moments later they reached the car. Inuyasha snatched up a still sobbing Shippo by his shirt and tore into the underbrush surrounding the ranch.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome snapped indignantly. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Ssshhh-shut up!" Inuyasha hissed as he winced from the bite to his hand Shippo just gave him in protest. He placed his hands over their heads and shoved them both down with him into a crouch. "Don't even breathe. They're back."

That was enough to shut them up. At last. Didn't any of them get it? Kagome could sense auras, why hadn't she picked up on it yet? For god's sake, he wasn't smart, but was he really the only one with enough sense to stay alive?

Those thoughts were silenced as two forms tore across the treetops. Even at a distance Inuyasha could see them. The first was humanoid. He had dark skin and hair as long as Inuyasha's tied in a braid. As he got closer, Inuyasha could see his fangs and serpentine eyes. He wore a trenchcoat, and his boots had two red discs that gave off a faint hum. He seemed to be flying with those, as he was steering by moving his legs. Inuyasha also took careful note of the metal staff he had. It ended a single-edged blade and had rubber grips.

The other one flew by use of a hoverboard like the ones Inuyasha had seen on TV, but much more sophisticated. He was squat and stocky with a big, bald lizard-like head full of sharp teeth. He had no weapons, but he looked pretty dangerous anyway. He had a look in his eyes like everything was potential food. He also answered the question of where the fox Moreaus' tails had gone. He had tied them to his belt like macabre trophies.

Inuyasha ground his teeth lightly. Taking these two on would be risky. But fleeing wasn't an option since they'd just get spotted and hunted down. Fighting seemed to be the only chance. And he'd have to get the first strike somehow. That meant waiting for those two to let their guards down. Not easy. And judging from what they had done so far, there probably wasn't any low they wouldn't stoop to. No doubt about it, Inuyasha was dealing with a couple of sick fucks here.

He glanced to his right at Kagome. She was watching the two Moreaus with a mixture of wonder, fear, and loathing. Whichever one was the most prominent changed from one second to the next. She didn't deserve to be here right now. She hadn't done anything wrong, so why did the universe feel like putting her in this situation? If there was a god, Inuyasha figured he must have had a sick sense of humor.

He took one more look down at his left at the kid. It was weird. He had just met the little runt, and already he was looking at him with a mixture of irritation and fondness. He couldn't help feel a little sympathetic too. At least this kid had _had_ parents to grow up with, unlike Inuyasha. Now the Project came in destroyed all that. That was just sick.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Inuyasha settled on his haunches, ready to spring out at a moment's notice as he trained his ears on the two reptile Moreaus.

"So, where do we start, brother?" the bald one asked as they settled in for a landing.

"I say we get rid of the bodies first," answered the humanoid one. The two red discs floated in toward him as he landed and connected onto the ankles of his boots. "I don't feel like getting lectured again."

"Well how were we supposed to know they wanted the area cleared? It's not like we've done this before."

"Bah. You know how those fucking scientists are. They think they're smarter than us and take it as an insult when we don't magically read their minds... Wait a second..." Oh shit. He looks suspicious.

The long-haired Moreau walked over to one of the bodies Kagome had turned over and folded the arms of. "We didn't leave any of them like this."

The lizard-ish Moreau lumbered over to where the other was looking. "Hmm... What do you think it means, Hiten?"

The Moreau called Hiten looked around carefully and spotted Kagome's car. "Somebody's here, Manten." He raised his weapon and began to look around with narrowed eyes.

Damn! Damn, damn, damn! Why couldn't they have been nearly retarded? Now it was going to be harder than ever to get the drop on them. Inuyasha had to think fast... Damnit, why couldn't he be better at that? Come on, come on, think! He had to think of something before... oh, hell.

Inuyasha just managed to grab Kagome and Shippo and spring away before Hiten swung his staff around and released a blast of electricity from the end. The tree behind them had its trunk shattered and fell forward with a deafening crash. The problem was that Kagome was loose while Inuyasha found himself on his stomach pinned underneath the fallen tree along with Shippo. Breathing was hard enough, but he couldn't see anything through the foliage that covered the two of them. Shippo had been knocked unconscious during the crash. Inuyasha struggled to free himself. He was strong enough to be able to get this thing off of himself if he just had a couple seconds, but he was pinned by the shoulders, which made it difficult to get leverage.

Though he couldn't see anything, he heard it all, and it made his blood run cold.

"Well, well, look what we found." It was the one called Hiten.

"A lovely little human. I wonder when she got here." Manten that time.

"Keep away from me!" Kagome shouted defiantly. Inuyasha couldn't help but admire her ability to stay brave in her situation.

"Sorry, bitch. But you're coming with us." Inuyasha redoubled his efforts at that, trying to free himself while also thinking of how many different ways he could kill Hiten. "We were ordered to kill all Moreaus we found, but they never said anything about humans. Isn't that right, brother?"

"Very true. Do you think they might reward us for bringing her back alive? After all, she probably knows something if she's out here." Manten would also have to die slowly when Inuyasha got his claws on him.

"You read my mind," Hiten remarked in cold humor.

Inuyasha heard Kagome's screams of protest and her fighting back, but the loud sound of a punch silenced her. Inuyasha felt that corner of his mind fighting him again. It was still controllable, but it put up more struggle this time. Instead, he focused his mind entirely on escaping. It was a thought that became all the more desperate as the sounds of Hiten and Manten's strange flight equipment began to fade off into the distance. Inuyasha wanted to roar and howl with rage, but his lungs were under too much pressure.

At last, Inuyasha found the leverage he needed. He slowly pushed himself up off the ground, bringing the tree with him. He gave a quick buck of his hips and was able to toss the burden off. But it was too late. As Inuyasha began to feel the ache of exertion, he saw that Hiten and Manten had already vanished from site. Kagome was gone.

Rage boiled up in Inuyasha. Not knowing how else to channel it, he screamed in the direction of the scent trail "I'll find you, you bastards! I'll kill you both!"

He looked down at Shippo who was still out cold, but free from his burden. Inuyasha scooped the little Moreau child up into his arms. "You're probably gonna want a piece of those fuckers too, kid." As soon as the strain of escaping from the fallen tree had worn off, Inuyasha bounded in the direction of the scent trail, alternating between a dash pumping his legs like pistons, and long leaping strides to cover more ground than any human could in as much time.

He had to rescue Kagome. When he found her, those two from the Project were going to wish they had never been created.

**-x-**

**Author's Notes: **And like an asshole, I leave you with a cliffhanger. I hope to get the next chapter and one of LCA! done in the next few days, so don't sweat too much over it.

Anyway, here's some shout-outs to my reviewers...

**crazymadness:** Let me put it this way. If I get to see the Daily Show, I consider it a good week.**  
Mimiko:** I hope you don't feel _too_ uncomfortable with the imagery in this chapter. I don't want to end up one of those hacks who relies on ultraviolence instead of actual content.**  
Izayoi:** A chapter in which Inuyasha describes a four-day-long torture session made you hungry. Right, I'm going to be here, behind this bullet-proof screen.**  
Vixen12089:** I actually pride myself on not using excuses. I either finish the work or I don't, and if I don't I just have to swallow my pride and face the music.  
**Araine:** You're the first person who gave the answer I was looking for. You were all right, but Hiten and Manten was the answer I had in mind.**  
Cringe:** I still haven't gotten around to that one yet. I need to make some more time for it. 


	7. Thunder

**Author's Notes:** Took me long enough to get around to updating this one. God I'm a lazy bastard.

Dawn of a New Age

Chapter 7- Thunder

Kagome felt herself drifting in and out of darkness. Her head felt like it was packed with cotton until a throbbing pain raced through her temple. She felt a powerful arm holding her by the waist. "Inuyasha?" she groaned softly. There was a sensation of movement and as her vision cleared, Kagome found herself flying above the treetops. Memory hit her like a fist and she gasped as she looked up to see herself being carried by the Moreau called Hiten. "You!" she shrieked.

"Damn it, she's awake," Hiten grumbled. He roughly braced Kagome up against his hip as she began to squirm. "I wouldn't do that, bitch. We're fifty feet up."

"Inuyasha will come for me," Kagome said threateningly.

"Who?" Hiten asked with an arched brow.

"A Moreau. My friend." Kagome looked up at him defiantly, trying to stay brave.

"You mean the canine Moreau who they tossed in storage? That's convenient. We were told to be on the look-out for him." Hiten smirked cruelly and looked down at Kagome. "Did you hear that Manten? The little bitch here is going to bring us Inuyasha."

"That's great news, brother," Manten answered with the same cruel smirk. "We'll be rewarded greatly for bringing him back."

Kagome was starting to wonder if maybe she should have kept her mouth shut. This was going from bad to worse quickly. She decided to keep faith in Inuyasha, though. If he could stand up to all the torture he was put through in the Project, then he could handle whatever these oafs could dish out. Right?

Something zipped past her head and in the next instant struck Manten upside the head hard. The bulky Moreau wavered on his hoverboard for a second before losing his balance and falling off into a clearing below. The board, without anyone to steer it, flew off wildly before slamming into a tree.

"Manten!" Hiten shouted and descended. When he was a few feet above the ground, he dropped Kagome unceremoniously and rushed over to his brother. "What happened?"

"I happened," came a voice from the trees. Kagome looked with a smile as Inuyasha bounded out of the forest and landed in a crouch beside her with Shippo on his shoulder. "I'm in an extremely bad mood right now, and I'm going to take it out on you two."

"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried out involuntarily in joy. He was here! Before she could say anything else she found a startled Shippo thrust into her arms.

"Take the kid and get back," Inuyasha said in a low voice.

Kagome knew better than to question. She looked over at Hiten and Manten and started to retreat to the edge of the clearing. She would need to find cover, as this was going to get really ugly in a minute.

**-x-**

Inuyasha slowly rose up and cracked his neck. "Who wants to go first?"

"Does it matter?" Hiten asked with a snarl. "It's not like you've been trained in combat."

"I'm not as dumb as I look," Inuyasha said evenly as he flexed his knuckles. He was going to need every ounce of his speed here. These two definitely had him outmatched in raw power. He'd have to try and wear them down.

"Fine," Hiten spat. "Brother, do you want to go first? He struck you, after all."

"It would be my pleasure," Manten growled.

Inuyasha noted with some satisfaction that the wrong he had thrown left a very visible bruise. He widened his stance and balled his hands into fists. Just stay loose. Just what the instructors always told Koga. If you tensed up, you wouldn't be able to react as quickly.

It was a good thing Inuyasha remembered that lesson as Manten opened with mouth and fired off a blast of what looked like electricity. He was barely able to dodge the incoming attack, landing in a crouch a few feet off. Since when the hell could they do that?!

Inuyasha looked up as Manten charged at him with a roar. Inuyasha nimbly sidestepped his slower opponent and pivoted into a hard kick to the back. Manten fell face-first into the ground but rolled over as Inuyasha prepared another attack and opened his mouth for another thunderbolt that Inuyasha just barely dodged in time. A stray lock of hair got caught in the blast and the ends were singed off.

Manten used his narrow window of opportunity to kick Inuyasha hard in the knee, bringing him to the ground. The canine Moreau recovered quickly and rolled away before Manten could grapple him and followed up with a kick to the head. Just as he figured. Manten was stronger, but he was slow and clumsy. Inuyasha held the mobility card on this one. But what about Hiten?

As if on cue, Inuyasha heard the sound of the small red discs on Hiten's boots activating. He ducked under a swing of the bladed staff and reached back, grabbing Hiten by the coat lapels and flipping him over and onto the ground. Inuyasha leapt back several feet and adjusted his stance. Goddamn sons of bitches ganging up on him at once! This just got a hell of a lot harder.

Hiten jumped up and swung out his bladed staff. This time, Inuyasha wasn't fast enough, and the blade slashed across his left arm. He let out a sharp yelp of pain and felt the opposite end of the staff impact with his head, knocking him off his feet and onto the ground. He opened his eyes in time to see Hiten level the staff, which crackled with electricity. Inuyasha rolled away just as a bolt shot out of the end and scorched the earth where he just was.

Inuyasha sprang to his feet only to feel Manten's shoulder slam into his side and send him sprawling across the ground again. He sprang away again as another bolt of electricity was fire at him. Damn it! He'd have to take one of them down in a hurry. Hiten was the most dangerous. Better go for him.

Inuyasha made a lunge for Hiten, but the humanoid Moreau brother just leaped up into the air and began firing off bolts from his staff with hovering with the discs on his boots. That staff and those boots would have to go. But at the moment, Inuyasha was too concerned with staying two steps ahead of both the thunderbolts from Hiten and Manten.

Out of the corner of his eye, Inuyasha caught a gleam of light and looked over as he jumped away to see Kagome holding a stone in her hand glowing brightly. Since when the hell could she do that?! She threw the rock as hard as she could at Hiten, but it missed and instead hit Manten, upon whom it exploded on impact in a flash of light sending the ugly Moreau crashing to the ground like a bag of cement.

"What the fuck?!" Hiten shouted and looked in the direction the stone had come from. "You bitch!" With that Hiten changed course and headed for Kagome.

Oh, that fucking tore it. Inuyasha leaped up into the air after Hiten and pounced on him in mid-air, bringing them both crashing to the ground. "Manten!" Hiten shouted to his brother. "Get the girl!"

Manten nodded as he picked himself up and made a charge for Kagome who gasped and picked up Shippo to make a retreat. Her path was cut off when one of Manten's thunderbolts streaked past her, missing by only a few inches.

Inuyasha roared in rage and frustration as he grappled with Hiten. "Kagome! Get outta here!"

Too late, Manten was moving faster than Inuyasha thought was possible and he almost on top of Kagome and Shippo now. No!

"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried out as Manten grabbed hold of her. He batted Shippo away like a fly, sending the fox Moreau flying into a tree trunk.

"As soon as your heart stops," Manten snarled, "I'll feast on it." With that he wrapped a clawed hand Kagome's throat and lifted her up off the ground. He pinned her to a tree trunk and smiled darkly.

Inuyasha felt that part of his mind stronger than ever at the sight of Kagome's strangled cries and desperate squirming. He screamed in rage as he continued grappling with Hiten. There! Beside them lay Hiten bladed staff. Inuyasha flipped them around so that Hiten had his back to the ground. He nimbly snatched up the staff and drove the blade through Hiten's shoulder and into the ground, causing the reptile Moreau to howl in agony.

Inuyasha scrambled away and dove toward the edge of the clearing. He heart was pounding out of his chest with fury. How dare any one of them even touch Kagome! For an instant, flecks of red, danced before Inuyasha's vision, but they vanished as he leaped through the air. Manten looked over his shoulder just as Inuyasha descended on his, bracing himself against the bigger Moreau's back with his knees and digging his claws into the neck and shoulders.

With a roar of pain and anger, Manten dropped Kagome to the ground and began vainly struggling with his stubby arms to get Inuyasha off of him. Meaty fists impacted with Inuyasha's back and shoulders repeatedly, but he didn't let go. He had to wait for the opportunity.

At last, both of Manten's arms were down and Inuyasha released his grip on the neck and shoulders. He grabbed hold of Manten's head and twisted sharply. The distinctive cracking of bones followed the movement, and Inuyasha hopped off as Manten fell to the ground dead.

Shaking his head to clear it, Inuyasha rushed over to Kagome. Her neck was already starting to show bruises and she looked a little out of it, but other than that, she seemed okay. Now to deal with Hiten.

Before Inuyasha could turn around, pain erupted throughout his upper body. He looked down and saw the point of Hiten's weapon sticking out of his shoulder. There was a crackle and a blast of electricity ran through Inuyasha's body, eliciting a scream of agony from him before the blade was pulled out and he dropped to his knees.

Inuyasha looked over his shoulder to see a scowling Hiten nursing his mutilated shoulder. "An eye for an eye," he spat. "Now to finish you off for what you did to my brother."

So this was how it ended, huh? The electricity had left Inuyasha's reflexes dulled and the wound in his shoulder made it almost impossible to use his right arm. And Kagome... Red flecks began to dance in front of Inuyasha's vision again, and his breathing turned into ragged growls and snarls.

Hiten's brows went up and he readied his staff defensively. "What the hell?" He raised his staff, prepared to make the killing blow. Even if Inuyasha could dodge, Kagome would die. There was no way he'd let that happen. He braced himself, ready to try and fend off the attack instead.

But it never came. A small blast of blue fire came out of nowhere and hit Hiten in the face. With a cry of pain, Hiten dropped his staff and put his hands to his face. "My eyes!" he shouted. "Who did that?!"

Inuyasha seized his opportunity. With a roar, he lunged forward, a power he never knew he had filling him. He swung his arm with claws bared and a yellow light erupted from his hand. It turned into arcs of light that struck Hiten and passed through him before twisting into the sky and vanishing in a flash.

Hiten didn't make a sound when the arcs hit him. His hands had parted away from his face enough to show the expression of shock frozen onto his features. The smell of charred flesh filled the air, and in the next moment, Hiten's body collapsed to the ground in pieces.

Inuyasha stood still for a moment as his breathing returned to normal and his vision cleared. He looked down at the dismembered corpse before him and then at his own hand. He caught himself wondering for the third time today when someone had gotten the ability to do something. Then he remembered the fireball and looked in the direction it had come to see Shippo weakly staggering to his feet and still surrounded in a ghostly aura of flames. Correction: fourth time today.

Inuyasha grimaced at the pain in his shoulder and collapsed back against a tree as Kagome finally came to.

**-x-**

Kagome shook her head to clear it. That was twice today she had been knocked out. It wasn't an experience she had any desire to go through again. Her vision had tunneled, but was starting to clear up. The first thing she saw was Manten's body laying face down with the neck at an unnatural angle. She gasped and looked around. First she saw Shippo slowly regaining his senses as he stood up. Then came the sight of Hiten's body laying in about five or six pieces in the ground. She gasped at the sight of that, but what shocked her even more was Inuyasha propped against a tree with his face twisted in pain as he tried to stop his shoulder from bleeding. "Inuyasha!" she cried out in alarm.

"Kagome," he mumbled as if in exhaustion. "Got 'em," he said with a smirk, though it clearly took him effort to do so.

Kagome scrambled over on her hands and knees to his side and looked at his wounds. "Hold still," she said softly yet forcefully. With that she closed her eyes and laid her hands on his cheeks.

"Kagome, what...?" Inuyasha began to ask, but Kagome softly shushed him.

She concentrated her mind and reached out into him. Her hands were enveloped in a soft pink glow. She reached out to the wound in his shoulder and visualized as if it were her own. She willed it to close. For the muscles to mend, the blood to clot. There wasn't much she could do now, but she could keep him from bleeding to death, at least. After a moment, trying to repair the damage became too much of a strain, and Kagome had to let go of him.

Inuyasha looked at her in awe for a moment before pulling down on the collar of his shirt and see that the wound had closed up.

"It'll open up again if you move it too much," Kagome explained. "But that's the best I can do for now."

Inuyasha nodded slowly in understanding, his bright yellow eyes softening in a way Kagome had never seen before.

She smiled gently at him and went over to Shippo. She scooped the Moreau child up in her arms and cradled him as Inuyasha slowly stood up. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Shippo said weakly. "We got 'em right?"

"You're damn right we did," Inuyasha said in a strangely soft voice. "Now let's get the hell out of here."

Kagome nodded slowly and began to walk beside Inuyasha back to the ranch.

It was sunset by the time they reached the burnt-out ruins, but Inuyasha wordlessly began picking up where Kagome left off preparing the bodies. Kagome took Shippo back to the car where he promptly fell asleep and went to help Inuyasha. Two hours passed as Inuyasha began digging shallow graves with his bare hands and gathering up stones for markers. Both of them were covered in dirt and dried blood by the time the macabre task was over, but it made Kagome feel a little better to know that at least in death these refugees could find peace and dignity.

The two of them went back to the car in silence. The first few minutes of the drive passed quietly before Inuyasha flatly asked, "So I assume you want to keep the kid?"

Kagome glanced over at Inuyasha in surprise. Did he really just say that? The thought had crossed her mind, but... "Well, it makes sense. Where else can he go?"

Inuyasha said nothing for a moment. "I just wanted a fair warning. I'm not good with kids."

Kagome couldn't help but smile. Even in this brief period of time, she knew enough about Inuyasha to realize that was his dysfunctional way of saying he approved.

**-x-**

"You realize, Miss Yoshida, that this is to be kept as quiet as possible," the aging agent behind the desk said.

"I believe that goes without saying, sir."

"Good. It took a lot of effort on my part to convince our superiors that you were suited to this case. I cannot stress enough just how serious this is."

"I understand."

The man handed her a binder with several manila folders inside. "Here is all the information on Project: Moreau that we have at this time. Enclosed are also several files on individuals we want you to investigate first. Do not let us down, Miss Yoshida."

"I won't," Sango answered sincerely as she turned on her heel to leave.

**-x-**

**Author's Notes:** I don't know why, but I love doing fight scenes. Maybe it's the testosterone in me, but Ang Lee is among my pantheon of cinematic gods.

**Mimiko:** Inuyasha is just expecting too much of her. Look through the story and you'll see that most of the time, to sense auras Kagome has to consciously think about it as it's still a developing power. She found Inuyasha by accident.

**Secret-punk-rocker16:** Yeah, well... bare with me here.

**Magellan-chan:** Now that you've seen Hiten and Manten get ripped apart (metaphorically _and_ literally), do you think the pay-off was up to scratch?

**Zonza:** I think I just have an easier time with Inuyasha simply because I'm a guy. The only character I've ever seen more hyper masculine than Inuyasha would be Michael Myers of Halloween, but now I'm getting really analytical, and I'll probably bore you to death if I go on.

**Father Malvado:** Like I said, parts of it will mirror the series, but for the most part, I just want the similarities to be something people can look at and smile at the comparison.

**xthe stranger withinx:** No I haven't seen The Grudge. I've been very cheap with my money the last couple months due to the holidays.

**Decrescendo:** In hindsight, the whole "composure" thing was just poor word choice on my part.

**Lost-Remembrance:** Convenient timing, isn't it?


	8. Agent

**Author's Notes:** And my period of productivity begins to wane. It takes more time to get to write something, and I think I'll be back to making sporadic updates any day now. Still, not a bad run. In like two weeks I got 3 chapters to LCA!, two new stories with two chapters each, and a new chapter of DoaNA (not counting this one). For me, that's pretty good.

Anyway...

Dawn of a New Age

Chapter 8- Agent

Kagome felt a little weary the next morning. She had managed to heal the bruises on her neck with her powers, but her throat was still a little sore. Tea seemed to help at least. And of course she had to cook breakfast for not only herself and Inuyasha but now Shippo as well. Speaking of whom, Shippo was busy exploring the apartment while Inuyasha hovered around her studying the pancakes she was making. "I told you, Inuyasha, breakfast will be done soon. Just be patient."

The Moreau said nothing and just continued watching. Kagome focused in on his aura and saw that he had two goals in mind. First of all there was concern. He was being eerily protective and Kagome wasn't sure to be touched or nervous about that. The other thing going through his mind was curiosity. Maybe he wanted to learn how to cook? It was hard to say.

Another few minutes passed like that before Kagome stacked up all of the pancakes and bacon on a large plate on the table. "Okay, you two breakfast is ready."

No sooner had Kagome said that than there was a knock at the door. Everyone stiffened up at the sound. Inuyasha glanced at Kagome and merely nodded as he snatched up Shippo and ducked into the guest room, trying to stifle the boy's protests.

Kagome cleared her throat and went to the door. She looked through the peephole to see a young woman in her mid-twenties in a grey suit with a briefcase. She had dark eyes and long black hair. Very pretty, but very serious-looking too. Kagome opened the door and peered out. "Yes? Can I help you?"

The woman nodded once. "Yes. Are you Miss Kagome Higurashi?"

"That's me," Kagome answered.

With that, the woman reached into a pocket in her suit jacket and produced an FBI badge. "Sango Yoshida, FBI. We've received word that you may have been a witness to a disturbance at the Hagen Mall the other day."

Kagome stifled a gasp and tried to put on her best innocent face. "I'm not sure what you mean..." she answered tentatively.

"May I come in?" Sango asked firmly, but not forcefully.

"S-sure." Kagome mentally slapped herself for stuttering. Way to appear innocent. "What exactly are you looking for?"

"We've received reports that an individual was sighted here a couple of days ago. An unidentified young man with silver hair, yellow eyes, and dog ears." How could this woman be so damn mellow about the whole thing? Kagome felt like she was going to explode.

"Dog ears? You're kidding." Kagome decided to continue her act and headed to the kitchen. "Coffee?"

"Yes, thank you," Sango answered as she sat down on the couch. "I'm afraid I missed breakfast today. Anyway, are you sure you didn't see anything unusual?"

"No more than any other day," Kagome said, finding it much easier to lie now that she wasn't making eye contact. She contemplated reading the woman's aura to try and get an idea of how successful her act was.

A small yelp of pain came from the guest room and Kagome nearly jumped out of her skin. That mutt was going to get it!

"What was that?" Sango asked.

Kagome turned bright red and brought two mugs of coffee into the living room. She laughed nervously and smiled. "That... was my boyfriend, uh... Ian." It was the closest thing she could come up. It sounded a little like Inu... kind of. "He's not a morning person."

"Do you know if he's seen anything?" Sango continued questioning before taking a sip of coffee.

"I don't think so," Kagome answered.

There was a moment of silence before a thump came from the guest room and Kagome felt like she would die on the spot. Sango said nothing, however and just sipped her coffee. "So anyway..." Kagome started, but was cut off.

"Miss Higurashi, I'm done playing games," Sango said seriously. "I'm only going to remind you once that lying to an agent like myself is a federal offense."

Kagome felt her jaw drop. This wouldn't end well. "But I..." She couldn't even form a sentence.

Sango set her briefcase on the coffee table and opened it up. She produced a picture that showed an overhead shot, slightly blurred, of her at the mall being carried away by Inuyasha. "The figure in this photograph has been positively identified as you. There are too many eyewitness accounts that much up. I suggest you tell me whatever it is you know, Miss Higurashi. Suffice to say that this is a matter of great importance."

Kagome was torn. She was caught in the act. Could she still lie and get away with it lying?

Before she even had the chance to answer, the door to the guest room opened and Inuyasha stepped out still clad only in a pair of blue jeans and a T-shirt. Kagome and Sango gasped in unison while Shippo launched himself out of the room and jumped into Kagome's lap, glaring suspiciously at the federal agent.

"How much do you know?" Inuyasha asked flatly.

Sango gave him a very careful look for a moment. "I have been assigned to investigate rumors of Project: Moreau," she said at last. "And terminate them."

"I got news for you, lady," Inuyasha drawled in a low voice. "I want to get rid of those sick fucks as much as you do."

Sango looked genuinely surprised by the answer. "I think you all owe me an explanation," she said levelly. "From the top."

"I better call Miroku, too," Kagome said. "He knows a lot about this, too."

**-x-**

Sango couldn't believe it when he stepped in the door. _The _Miroku Yamashita. "Mr. Yamashita? I'm Sango Yoshida. I've read a lot of your work. It's a pleasure to meet you." She extended her hand in a very professional manner to greet him.

Miroku gave her a suave smile and instead of shaking her hand, kissed it in a very gentlemanly way. "The pleasure is all mine, Miss Yoshida," he said in a smooth voice.

Sango felt a light blush creep into her face and mentally scolded herself for getting flustered over this. As Miroku passed her, she felt a small pinch on her rear and the embarrassment turned to rage. Momentarily losing her temper, she shifted her stance and planted a powerful elbow strike in the small of Miroku's back, causing him to fall forward onto the carpeted floor with a loud grunt of pain. Sango scowled and turned to glare at him as he picked himself up off the floor.

Miroku stared at her a moment as he brushed himself off then grinned in a rather lecherous way. "I _was_ thinking that you're not my type of woman, but now you are, actually," he declared bluntly.

Sango felt her jaw drop and stormed past him onto the couch beside Kagome, fuming quietly.

"You know," Inuyasha remarked as he came out of the kitchen with another plate of pancakes and bacon, "if you keep that up, she may not let you live long enough to see this whole clusterfuck to the end."

"I have a thing for dangerous women," Miroku admitted unashamedly as he sat in the recliner. "But if Miss Yoshida is uninterested, what about you Kagome?"

"If you touch her," Inuyasha snarled, "I'll rip out your intestines and strangle you with them."

"Ah, so that's your relationship?" Miroku sighed resignedly. "How awkward."

Inuyasha and Kagome both went beet red and the older Moreau snarled again. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't tear your arms off and beat you to death with them?"

"Who else are you going to use all of those creative threats on?" Miroku joked.

"Are we actually going to do anything?" Shippo humphed impatiently. He had been sitting quietly in Kagome's lap the whole time.

"Alright, alright," Inuyasha grumbled. "Asshole," he addressed Miroku, "you start."

Miroku arched a brow but didn't respond to the bait. Instead he began his explanation of how he came to discover Project: Moreau. That was followed by Inuyasha's story of how he came to be here, and Kagome's story of how she found Inuyasha and all the events leading up to now. At the story of the battle at the ranch, Shippo buried his face in her collar and sobbed softly.

Sango couldn't help but feel her heart soften. She had been told the original orders were to exterminate the Moreaus, but many agents in on this investigation were lobbying to have the Moreaus instead put on trial as any other human being. They were trained mercenaries and genetic experiments, but they were still living things. Seeing Inuyasha and Shippo, though... she was beginning to believe that they did deserve better than an execution. Inuyasha was kept alive by the Project for the sole purpose of suffering. And Shippo had been born outside of the Project. He hadn't done anything wrong.

When the stories were finished, there was an awkward silence. "I'll hold off on reporting to my superiors for a little while," Sango declared at last. "I don't think they'll be as sympathetic to Inuyasha and Shippo as I am."

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked with concern.

"My orders were to terminate the Moreaus, but I can't go through with that," Sango answered bluntly. "I'm going to need all of your help. You see, this isn't the only case federal agents have been sent to investigate."

"What are you saying exactly?" Inuyasha narrowed his eyes as if dreading the answer.

"The two Moreaus you fought... They're not alone." Sango opened her briefcase again and took out several manila folders, handing them around. "The Project seems to be getting back into full swing. Sightings have gone through the roof. We've counted at least seven in the last year. What bothers us the most is this." Sango pulled out a black and white photograph and set it down on the coffee table. It was a shot taken at a distance of a man with long, wavy dark hair and pale skin flanked by two armed guards.

Inuyasha walked up and peered over the couch at the photo. A low growl immediately slipped out of his throat, and the empty plate in his hand started to visibly shake as his body quivered with obvious rage.

"You recognize him," Sango deadpanned. "Doctor Naraku Tanaka, founder of Project: Moreau." Everyone leaned in for a closer look. "The part that worries us is the date that picture was taken on. May 17... 2031."

All eyes went from the photograph, to Sango, to the photograph again. "That's impossible," Miroku whispered incredulously. "He's over a hundred years old, but in that picture he can't be any older than his mid- to late-thirties."

"I know," Sango sighed. "But he has been positively identified. We still haven't figured out a rational explanation-" Sango couldn't finish her sentence as she was cut off by Inuyasha.

"My ass you haven't!" he snapped. "The whole time I was there, he never aged a day. I guess he figured out how to keep from dying."

"Inuyasha, this is not a science fiction novel," Sango chided in a scolding tone. "We need reasonable explanations."

Inuyasha gave her an incredulous look and pointed at himself. "Hello! Lady, I have dog DNA in me. I can bench press 650 pounds and have a vertical leap of 50 feet. I can still smell what you had for dinner last night. And just yesterday, I figured out that I can make psionic energy come out of my claws. Is it that much of a stretch that Tanaka could do some weird experiment on himself? At the very least, he could have put himself in stasis for a few decades like he did to me."

Well, when he put it like that... Sango opted to simply say nothing.

"The man makes a good point," Miroku said thoughtfully. "Considering everything we've seen in the last few days, it's too early to discount anything as a possibility."

"Thought so," Inuyasha grunted. He retreated into the kitchen a moment and came back without the plate.

"So what are we going to do?" he asked to no one in particular.

"I'll come up with a story to tell my superiors," Sango said in a business-like tone as she began packing up her suitcase. "For the time being, I'd like to keep them away from all of you. At least until they can be convinced that Inuyasha and Shippo don't mean harm to anyone."

"Other than Tanaka, right?" Inuyasha growled.

"I think that goes without saying," Sango replied. "I'd like to meet with you all tomorrow evening. Does anyone have a good meeting place? I'd prefer we not keep meeting here for the sake of security."

There was a moment of silence. "I suppose we could go over to my family's home," Kagome suggested.

Sango just shook her head. "I'm going to have to say no, Kagome. I have to keep civilians out of this."

"My house, then," Miroku chimed in. He pulled out a card from his pocket and handed it to Sango. "My address and contact information are all there. Kagome already knows how to find me."

Sango gave Miroku a critical look and took the card. "Very well. I expect to see all of you at Mister Yamashita's-" Sango began, but was cut off.

"Please, call me Miroku."

Sango didn't even spare him a glance. "At Mister Yamashita's house at 7 PM tomorrow. Try to lay low."

With that, Sango stood up and strode out of the apartment. This was going to put her training to the test. She'd be lying and disobeying direct orders from her superiors and had to work with a lecher and a surly Moreau. At least they were easy on the eyes.

Sango paused as if paralyzed when she caught herself thinking that as she got into her car. She shook her head to clear it. The last thing she needed right now was to be thinking like that damnable lecher in such a critical situation. With a sigh, Sango started the car up and began thinking of what she was going to say in her report.

**-x-**

Naraku carefully examined the reports on the notepad Perkins had delivered that afternoon. So the FBI wanted to get involved again, did they? Someone was going to have to suffer. Sango Yoshida. Sent to investigate reports of a canine Moreau sighted with a woman positively identified as Kagome Higurashi, a known psion. Very interesting. He would dispatch Sesshoumaru to investigate this one. Perhaps Koga as well when he returned from Egypt.

Naraku suspected Inuyasha to be the canine Moreau mentioned in the report, but he wanted to be sure. Also, no sense in bringing him back just yet. It would be an excellent research opportunity to observe his behavior in the modern world and to see just what he could do now that his powers were being given a chance to develop.

This certainly made him feel better about Hiten and Manten's disappearances. Oh well. They were expendable anyway. The only concern was whether or not they showed up again and who saw them if they did.

**-x-**

**Author's Notes:** I thought this would make a nice segue into the second act as the action begins to heat up. By the way, am I the only one who was having a lot of technical problems with the site yesterday?

**Killer Goldfish:** Chapter 3 for Singin' Hound is next. I'm hammering out some kinks right now.

**Mimiko:** From watching the show, I always figured Inuyasha as the type who makes the leap of logic, "If you can do something, then do it," a lot. Anyway, I hope you like how I've portrayed Sango here. She's not an easy character to work with.

**shaid:** I think it's probably best not to go on a fight scene for more than a few minutes until the big climactic bit. Otherwise, it kinda drags.

**Divine-Red-Crayon:** At least you have something to do with your time. I'm spending the January term at home to try and earn some money, but I can't find a job.

**Lost-Remembrance:** Kagome's rock thingy will be explained in the next chapter.


	9. Reunion

**Author's Notes:** By the time you read this, I'll have been working on this for some time. My college schedule simply does not allow time for as much writing as I would like. That reality came to me the other day when I totally bombed one of my tests. I'm going to have to haul ass to salvage my grade. So it seems I can only devote less than an hour a day to my writing until things improve. And with all of my various projects in the works, it's going to be a while before I get around to finishing any one of them. Hell, Singin' Hound Lounge probably won't get done until the summer, despite the fact that I planned to finish it in the next couple of months.

As I've said before, I have too damn many projects and not enough time or energy to work them all in.

Dawn of a New Age

Chapter 9- Reunion

Kagome pulled her car up to a modest townhouse in the suburbs. This was the address that Miroku had provided. Still... Kagome had no idea what they were going to accomplish tonight. She didn't even know where they were going to start. But it was still better than sitting around waiting for the Project to find them. She glanced over at Inuyasha and Shippo as she parked the car at the curb. "We're here."

Inuyasha nodded once and stepped out of the car, his ears pinned down by a black cap with a silver dragon stitched onto the front. "So this is where the lech lives, eh?" he thought out loud.

"Please, Inuyasha," Kagome pleaded. "Try to keep your temper in check." What she really meant was "don't be an asshole," but she disliked using profanity and talking like that to him would probably just irritate him more.

He grunted once and walked behind Kagome to the front door, quietly fuming as Shippo sat on his head.

Kagome knocked on the front door and was greeted moments later by Miroku. "Ah, you're here. Sango phoned in a moment ago to say she'll be arriving in a few minutes. Until then, make yourselves at home."

The group wandered into the living room. It was furnished with a strong Far Eastern theme to the decor, and the walls featured photographs of Miroku in a myriad of places with just as many different people. Kagome took a seat on the sofa and tried to relax.

Shippo jumped off of Inuyasha's head and onto her lap, surveying the living room with great curiosity. Inuyasha on the other hand just stood in the middle of the room as he took off the cap and let his ears twitch while Miroku glided off into the kitchen.

"Inuyasha," Kagome urged, "please don't be like this. Sit down." She realized an instant too late that she had made a mistake.

There was a yelp, a crash, a surprised gasp, and a nervous laugh. All within three seconds. Inuyasha was sprawled out facedown on the carpeted floor, grumbling out what sounded like, "Son of a bitch."

"What... just happened?" Miroku asked cautiously as he came out to investigate. He must have seen the whole thing, judging by the look on his face.

"Well," Kagome started as a blush crept up her neck, "I'm not sure why, but every time I say the word... s-i-t Inuyasha sort of... falls." Oh yeah, that was an ingenious explanation.

Shippo's face split into an impish grin and he hopped down in front of Inuyasha who was just starting to pick himself up. "Sit!" he shouted in his squeaky voice.

His expression immediately fell as Inuyasha just scowled. "Uh oh."

A quick bop on the head, and the fox Moreau was cowering in Kagome's lap. "Nice try, brat," Inuyasha scoffed as he got back on his feet. "But it doesn't work that way."

As much as Kagome wanted to scold Inuyasha for hitting Shippo, she had to admit that he kind of deserved that one. Kicking someone when they were down was just plain cruel. "You never did tell me how that works, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha heaved a sigh and collapsed more than sat into an armchair. "It's called a VST. Verbal Subjugation Trigger... They implant a command word in my brain. The first person that says it, my mind is keyed to their voice. Whenever they say the magic word, my back and leg muscles spasm so that I basically throw myself into the ground and then my whole body goes limp so I can't get back up for a few seconds."

"Like an extremely powerful post-hypnotic suggestion," Miroku observed.

"What he said," Inuyasha deadpanned. "I managed to work past several VSTs at the Project. Not many others could. They must have implanted the new one while I was out. Kagome was the first one to say the word, so now it's tied to her."

"An interesting word choice," Miroku mused. "Painful, effective, and humiliating all at once. Three abuses in one neat little package. The ACLU would have a field day with this alone."

"The who?" Inuyasha asked with his brows furrowed.

"Never mind," Miroku answered dismissively. "You realize of course that once Sango arrives, you're going to have to tell us everything."

Inuyasha said nothing. He just folded his arms over his chest and stared at the floor. Kagome didn't need to read his aura to know that he wasn't looking forward to this. If the things he had told her already were any indication, then being in the Project must have been a living nightmare.

They waited all of five minutes before Sango arrived and took a seat beside Kagome. "Good, you're all here. Now, I contacted Miroku earlier today and got everything he knows about the Project. But we need more information." She then leveled a steely gaze at Inuyasha.

The Moreau shifted uncomfortably under her stare and looked to Kagome as if asking for guidance. All she could do was bite her lip.

"Inuyasha," Sango said in a commanding tone that very clearly made the young man tense, "I need you to tell me everything you know from the perspective of a Moreau. I need to know what you and the others are capable of. I need to know what training and mental conditioning they were given. I need you to explain any and all agendas Tanaka might have had that you even had a suspicion of. Everything."

Inuyasha closed his eyes, and his aura gave off a mixture of anguish, rage, reluctance, and frustration. But there was also a grim determination in his face that you didn't need psionic powers to see. Kagome leaned across the short distance between the couch and the armchair and wrapped her hand around his. Without opening his eyes, Inuyasha closed his hand to press her slender fingers against his palm. "We're only given names for convenience," he finally growled out. "We have a codename and a serial number. That's it."

Kagome never once let go of his hand as he began explaining the indoctrination process. It was like a twisted parody of boarding school; training the Moreaus from the moment they could walk and talk on how to become unfeeling and focused yet perfectly loyal killers. Some bought it hook, line, and sinker. Others just stayed in line because they had nowhere else to go. And if ever they did resist, the VST would subdue them long enough to be restrained and they would be taken away for either torture or execution, depending on how much trouble they caused. The only ones who had ever successfully fought back and lived long enough to escape had apparently made their way to the Kabori ranch. A place which now lay in ruins.

Moreaus were trained in combat, guerilla fighting, multiple languages, terrorist tactics, infiltration, espionage... In short, everything they would need to become ideal international mercenaries. Naraku managed to evade inspections by keeping the indoctrination and espionage training a secret. Whenever the higher-ups came for a visit, there was always a happy face put on everything, and only the most loyal and intelligent of the Moreaus were allowed to speak with anyone. As far as anyone outside the Project knew, these bizarre hybrids were of average intelligence at best and were receiving basic military and para-military training.

It was the perfect set-up. Supersoldiers for hire from a madman who owed allegiance to no country at all. He would sell weapons to your enemy and life insurance policies to you without a second thought. Which meant everyone would be trying to outbid one another for use of the Moreaus in their agendas. And if any of these creatures were ever exposed, their lips were sealed. Besides, what government would want the world to know that they were directly involved in this obviously illegal business? And anyone who did have the courage to try and bring this to light... Tanaka had them dealt with. It was only by sheer dumb luck that the CIA found out what he was up to, but that wasn't enough.

As Inuyasha finished his explanation, everyone was silent. "Anything else?" he mumbled after a moment.

"Anything you can tell us about Tanaka," Sango answered frankly.

"Short list," Inuyasha drawled. "Bastard loved to torment me but he never actually told me anything."

Sango sighed in mild frustration and rubbed her temples. "Perhaps you could give us some insight into his motivations. What's the whole purpose of turning Project: Moreau into a mercenary service? Money, power, or is it just an excuse to keep his work going?"

Inuyasha paused to think about his answer. "I remember once he was talking to some of us. The scientists had us strapped down and were testing us again. And Naraku was talking about how... how we were going to remake the world."

"Remake the world?" Miroku questioned. "What did he mean by that?"

Inuyasha shook his head lightly. "I don't know." His voice was barely above a whisper.

The room was deathly silent for a minute as everyone processed this new information. Kagome felt a chill deep inside of her as she turned over Inuyasha's descriptions in her head. The more she learned, the more she came to wish everything in her life would go back to normal. But that brought about the thought that Inuyasha wouldn't be in her life. And that was something she just couldn't imagine anymore. It was strange how fast she had become so attached to him. She didn't want to let him go, didn't want him to be alone.

Shippo pulled her quickly from her musings. "So what do we do now?" he asked impatiently.

"We need to figure out a course of action," Sango declared in an authoritative voice. "I can't risk exposing Inuyasha and Shippo to my superiors, though. Not yet. But we need some way to keep tabs on Project: Moreau until I can get you two amnesty."

"Finding leads is going to be difficult, though," Miroku added. "Even with as many contacts as I have, digging up information is going to be difficult at best. Most likely nigh impossible."

"What about the two who attacked my home?" Shippo piped in. "Why don't we follow where they were heading?"

Kagome looked down at the fox Moreau in surprise. It was a long shot of an idea, but it was something to go on. "Maybe. Inuyasha, do you think you could find the place you stopped them at?"

Inuyasha frowned and lowered his head slightly. "Yeah, but the scent trail will be pretty weak by the time we get there, if there's even enough left for me to track."

"Right now we don't have anything better," Miroku remarked.

"Miroku's right," Sango acquiesced. "Kagome, I want you and Inuyasha to take me to the site of the Kabori ranch and from there we'll try to follow whatever trail we can get."

"Well... I have work tomorrow," Kagome nervously began.

"Then Inuyasha and I will go ourselves," Sango cut in. "If possible, I'd like to keep your involvement in this to a minimum. You're still technically a civilian."

Kagome nodded once. "I understand." Though deep down, she hated the idea of having to leave Inuyasha, if only for a couple of hours.

"What can I do?" Shippo asked with the tone of a child who desperately wanted to help. But what could they possibly do that wouldn't put him in danger?

Kagome got an idea and smiled down at the Moreau child in her lap. "I'll need you to guard my apartment while I'm at work in case any other Moreaus come sneaking around." Leave him with a few rules, and he probably wouldn't ask too many questions or get into any trouble.

Shippo smiled proudly and puffed out his chest, obviously pleased at being trusted with such a task.

"I'll see what I can do about finding some information on Tanaka before he defected to the US," Miroku added. "With any luck, there might be some clue left over."

Sango nodded once and stood up. "I believe that's all we're going to get done tonight until we have more leads. Kagome, I'll be at your apartment tomorrow morning at 6:30 to pick up Inuyasha."

Kagome nodded once and stood up, holding Shippo in her arms. "I'll print out the directions for you." Even though she trusted Inuyasha, she couldn't help but shake an uneasy feeling. Like something very bad was about to happen very soon.

**-x-**

Inuyasha sulked the whole time on the way to the destroyed ranch. He still had his doubts about this Sango woman. Of course, he never trusted easy to begin with, so it wasn't like this was unusual. The two of them didn't say a word the whole trip. Inuyasha didn't even make an attempt to turn on the radio. He imagined that this is what Purgatory must have felt like.

At last, the trip ended and they found themselves at the ruined home of the Moreau renegades. Inuyasha couldn't help but scowl at the sight of all the graves again. He put a hand to his shoulder in memory of the battle. Kagome thought he was still injured, and he only still wore the bandages under his shirt to keep her quiet. In reality, his wound was almost completely healed. In another two days there wouldn't even be a scar. He had told her fast he could heal, but the damn girl just wouldn't listen and kept insisting on helping him.

Inuyasha lightly shook his head to clear it and stalked toward the opposite edge of the field where the forest resumed. Sango quietly followed behind him, surveying the damage around them with a stoic expression on her face. "Two Moreaus did all of this?" she thought aloud. Even Inuyasha could tell it was a rhetorical question.

As they reached the edge of the forest, Inuyasha sniffed the air to try and pick up on the fading scent trail. He found it, but there was something new. There was another scent approaching. One he knew too well. "Get back to the car!" Inuyasha barked at Sango. Too late.

A tall figure erupted from the forest in a blur of white and landed behind them. Inuyasha and Sango pivoted to face the newcomer, and the former let out a tense growl. "Sesshoumaru."

Sesshoumaru stood just a few inches shy of seven feet. He wore a white body suit with a silver-grey trench coat. His long, furry white tail wrapped once around his waist, came out the slit back of the coat, and draped over his left shoulder. His silver hair was the same as Inuyasha's, hanging down to almost his ankles. His eyes were also the same golden color, but like his face were cold and composed. Somewhere in the last fifty years, it seemed Sesshoumaru had found some way to permanently scar himself, as his face now sported tattoos of two red streaks on each cheek and a blue crescent moon on his forehead. Other than those markings, though... he hadn't aged much at all. When he spoke, his voice was devoid of emotion and carried the chilling tone of one who no longer cared for the distinction between right and wrong. "Welcome back to the living, Inuyasha."

**-x-**

**Author's Notes:** Shorter than I originally intended, but I think this works better as a cliffhanger. Probably not one of my better efforts, but the more things I can say I have done, the better. At least for now.

Don't expect another update for a while. Midterms are this week, and then I have spring break.

**Scherezade7:** Fight scenes are hard to choreograph, especially in prose. It bugs me how few people even try anymore, though. They just kind of lightly breeze over it or describe it in a choppy, half-assed way. Anyway, more action coming next chapter. Let's see if I can do that while also preserving some essential elements to Sesshoumaru's personality.

**shaid:** I've been experimenting with more mature elements in my writing lately. It just feels like a natural evolution.

**Divine-Red-Crayon:** On the upshot, I've got a shot at an internship with Pittsburgh Filmmakers this summer. I might even get a chance to meet George Romero.

**Father Malvado:** At least you're honest about it. My brother is somewhat in denial of his geekitude.

**Mimiko:** I figure Sango to be the type who, even without all of her trauma, is borderlining on multiple personality disorder. She tries so hard to be stoic and straight-laced, but she's much more complex than she wants anyone to believe. I think I've finally figured out how to portray that, and it's good to see her interaction with Miroku in the last chapter came across so convincing.

**Izayoi:** As I said before, I wanted to try a different approach to the characters this time around, put them in roles that are appropriate but unexpected. And I figured since Sango is a demonslayer, what kind of modern job would that be like. Federal agent, there you go. Serve and protect.


End file.
